Because You Called My Name
by WitchJuliana
Summary: Life is made up a choices, as they both find out. It takes mistakes and mending to do it, but they finally find an ending where they can all be happy, even if it takes some work getting there. Brassberry is willing to see it to the end, if it means that his little family can be at ease and at peace. Based off the Bittybones AU and Yanderetale by Ammazolie.
1. What Can I Possibly Do?

**A/N: The highly anticipated sequel.**

* * *

"So? I never said I love you."

You collapse to your knees with shock.

The words sting because they're true. He never DID say that he loved you. But… With all that time you spent together, you thought you caught all those small gestures and moments where you KNOW he loved you- no, LOVES you. Even now, when he's looking away and avoiding your eyes, you know he still loves you.

He can't say that he doesn't love you to your face.

That's enough proof that he loves you, right?

You refuse to believe that he doesn't love you. Despite everything, your fear, your pain, your cowardice… He needs you.

You need to be filled with BRAVERY.

So you clench your fists and grit your teeth. She's going to hurt him, you know this, you know this to your very core because that's how you two met, right? She hurt him badly and so you took him in for whatever impulse you felt that day. And now, now she's going to do the same thing AGAIN, but you're not sure if you'll be able to save him again. The thought of him being used and abused like before makes you mad, angry, upset… Hateful.

You HATE her.

Tears stream down your face, but it's not out of sadness or pain or fear, but of frustration and anger, and you refuse to standby any longer.

You will FIGHT.

"How pathetic." Her words fan the flames she started, and when you lift your head up, your eyes meet with the back of her legs as she starts to leave. She will not leave here with him.

"...shut up." She turns to look at you with a sneer, and you can't see him but you think he's hiding his face because he's ashamed. He's ashamed that he lied to you and you want nothing more but to tell him that you know, you know and it's okay. You still love him all the same. Your lips form a snarl you never knew you had the venom in you to make.

"Did you say something?"

"I said, SHUT UP!" You tackle her legs, making her crash to the floor with a shriek. For a brief minute, you're worried that Brass might have been crushed by her body, but you're confident that he'll be alright. You flip her around quickly, and there he is, clenched tightly against her chest like he's the key to her freedom. He's staring in absolute shock at what you did because for once, you attacked back. To be honest, you're surprised too, but you need to shove that feeling aside for a bit because there's a skeleton who still needs you, so you straddle her waist and grab her arm, wrenching it from her chest, and you try to pry her fingers off him.

Unsurprisingly, you struggle to pull her fingers off of him. It's a miracle you actually managed to topple her in the first place, but you have to thank momentum, your weight, and the force of gravity for that. She curls forward and yells angrily, taking her free hand and yanking at your hair. It's painful and you cry out, but by now, you're starting to get used to the feeling of it so you bite down on the arm you're holding onto. You hear Brass yelling something, and then she's screaming and her arm jerks in your grasp (and mouth) and there's a soft plopping noise. Looking down, you see Brass quickly crawling onto you so you release her arm and scoop him up. Once he's safely in your grasp, you roll backwards onto your back and kick her in the face. She's gasping in pain, and you take it as your chance to scramble away from her.

You're standing with your back against the wall, and he's back with you, safely against your chest as you're panting and he's clinging onto you tightly, there's no WAY he doesn't love you. She's standing up, and despite her small frame she holds a hulking aura of danger and threats, and the glare on her face is terrifying, but you refuse to let the fear overtake you, so you match the glare with the same intensity.

She won't give up.

She'll never give up.

You know she'll keep fighting and harassing you until she gets what she wants, and you're adamantly refusing her what she wants. So you need to think quick, before she's coming closer ,and you think with disappointment that her nose is not broken, and you're thinking briefly that maybe you're weaker than you thought or that you're holding back again but the bitter thoughts don't last because she's almost in front of you so you speak up and yell:

"Wait!" And she stops. Or maybe she hesitates, but she stops advancing and you release that breath you were holding in but then you're holding it again because you're not sure what to say. She growls and moves a step forward, so you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. "I'll pay you!"

"...what?" Her response comes out more shocked and surprised than indignant. Brass looks up at you even more confused, and you can feel yourself sinking into a thick vat of 'oh shit'.

"I… I can pay you? For his papers and stuff!" She snorts and crosses her arms.

"First of all, fuck you. Second of all, eat my shit. There's no way I'm letting you buy him off me."

"Name your price!" This quirks her interest, and a predatory smile spreads across her face. Aha, you're totally fucked. Why did you say that? You could've said anything else, and now you're pretty much BUYING Brass as if he's an object or something.

It sickens you to the core, but you can't think of anything better.

You have to keep moving forward.

"Hmmm, how about…" If she says one million dollars, you swear you're going to punch her. "One hundred thousand dollars!" That's enough for a house, you think. You wheeze. "No wait, two hundred thousand dollars!" You wheeze harder. That's enough to pay off your student loans, and you're STILL working on that.

"T-two hundred thousand?" She smirks at you and holds her hand out.

"What? Too much? Then give him back."

"No!" You clutch him closer to your chest, and he looks up at you with a hopeless stare, and it's this stare that makes you swallow hard and stand up straighter. "That's just… That's just so unreasonable! Why do you even NEED that much money? Can't you do something normal, like ten thousand or something?" She scoffs and lowers her hand.

"Fine. Since you _poor fucks_ can't pay for my VERY reasonable price, then I'll just make you pay… one hundred thousand dollars!"

"No!"

"Ugh, you're really being a pain in the ass." She growls and looks ready to spring at you, but Brass holds a shard menacingly in the air with his magic, and she instead glares at you both. "Whatever then. Does fifty thousand sound better?"

"You didn't even put in that much money to care for me! The fuck are ya thinkin', tryin' to rip them off like that?!" Brass yells at her from your chest, and she snarls in response. It only just occurs to you that maybe she's trying to take advantage of the situation and filch some money from you. Whatever, you decide, as long as it get her out of your house and away from Brass.

"For god's- FINE! How about twenty five grand? That is my last offer or else I'm taking him back!"

"That's-"

"Okay."

"What?!" Brass looks up at you in shock, but you continue to stare at the lady with defiant eyes.

"Fine, I'll take that offer." She grins and holds out her hand in expectancy. You stare at it with confusion. "...What?"

"Pay up."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"B-But I don't have the money for that right now!"

"Pathetic. If you can't pay, then you can't have him."

"I'll pay you in installments!"

"What?" She glares at you, and you almost cower before her but you refuse to bow down to her.

"I can pay you in small increments until you get twenty five thousand!"

"And why should I let you do that?"

"Because you're gonna get your money, even if it's in a gradual way!" You glare back at her, and you can feel Brass clinging to your shirt. It's a terrible way to get him back, but bribery may be the key to keeping her away from him.

"Hmm…" You hold your breath, and you think pleasepleaseplease _please_ just accept this deal, you can't have her trying to take him back after all he's been through. "...Alright. I'll take the cash, even if you hafta give it to me in pieces." You release the breath once more just as common sense hits you.

"We need to put this down on paper."

"What?" She looks annoyed as you look around for a pen and paper. You need this down on paper before she tries to pull something. Like, claim you need to pay her 20% interest or some shit. Late fees and all that jazz. Yeah, fuck that bullshit.

"I said we need to put this all down on paper. You know, like to keep a record so that neither of us tries to do anything?" You place Brass on your shoulder and feel him holding on tight you. It's a reassuring pressure, and you open a drawer to find a notepad and a pen. This will do. You quickly write down the amount you're supposed to pay her and hand it to her to sign. She takes it and glares at you.

"What, this can't be the only thing on here."

"Uh, yes?"

"No no no, you said installments, right? Then I demand that you pay up one thousand dollars at the end of each month!" You gasp and wheeze because that's _impossible_ with your pay, overtime or not.

"N-no! I can't manage that!" She rolls her eyes and sneers at you.

"What, are you a store clerk or something?"

"No! I'm an… office clerk?"

"Really? Shouldn't you be getting a high pay or some shit?"

"No! I've barely been working for a year, and I'm already lucky enough to be paid the amount I have-"

"I said one thousand, or he's coming back with me." She hisses in your face as Brass growls at her. You feel the blood draining from your face as you quickly nod in agreement.

"Okay! Okay! One grand per month, okay." You quickly scribble down the amount.

"And if you don't pay it all in that month, then you have to pay the remainder the month. With interest."

"You're being completely unfair with the interest bit!" She sneers at you and is about to jab a finger at your face when Brass snaps at her, teeth just barely missing her finger.

"Ooh! You little-"

"No. Interest." You are almost certain that Brass has no idea what interest is, but he's trying to help you, so that's all that matters. "Or yer gonna be missin' a finger." She growls and crosses her arms.

"Fine! You little shits." You write down the rest of the statement and quickly sign it before she says anything else, handing the pen to her to sign. She grumbles angrily and scribbles her signature before thrusting the pen at you. "I expect a copy under my door by tomorrow."

With that, she leaves your house, slamming the door behind her. You crumple to the ground, wheezing as Brass hugs your face.

"Hey, hey, you alright?" You feel his little hands gently patting your cheek, but your mind is too busy racing with calculations and plans on being incredibly frugal.

"I don't know how I'm gonna pull this off." Will your boss be willing to let you work overtime? Or maybe let you work part-time on the weekends? At least full-time for Saturday? What about bills? Food? Will you even have time for meals? "Oh god, what am I gonna-"

"Hey." He's tugging on your hair, so you look down and he's got a concerned look on his face. Oh man, who's going to take care of him when you're working overtime? He must have recognized the look of pure despair on your face because he's looking more worried by the second. "Just, just lay down for a sec, alright?" You nod slowly and slowly lay down on the floor. He crawls onto your face and lays on top of you all sprawled out, and he's petting and patting you while murmuring quietly that you'll figure something out, you'll be fine, it's okay.

It's only once you calm down that you remember how close you were to losing him.

You end up dissolving into sobs and rolling onto your side, cupping him close to your face and letting him comfort you. He thinks you're crying because of all this sudden financial stress and he's apologizing, and god it makes you cry even harder because it's NOT his fault.

So you tell him, and you're smothering him in love and affection and telling him how much you're relieved that she didn't take him, that's why you're crying, and now you're refusing to let him go so now the two of you are stuck curled up on the floor because you're too damn drained to get up. Brass clings to your hand, and the two of you fall asleep on the floor, just like that.

\=\

His human got up the next morning to quickly make a copy of the agreement and ran off to slide it under the bitch's door. Once they come back, he reminds them to eat some breakfast because neither of them had any food before passing the fuck out last night. They nod slowly and begin to make breakfast with him watching from the side. Breakfast is made slowly with deliberation, and he hears them mumbling about their job and something about overtime and calling their boss, maybe actually going to his office to talk to him? Their mumbling continues into the eating of their meal, stopping their chewing to frown and mumble to themselves around the eggs they stuffed into their mouth prior to the mumbling. He sighs and taps their hand, already finished with his breakfast while they were barely halfway done. They blink and look at him with dazed eyes.

"Hm?"

"You need to eat." He points to the food and then to their mouth. They blink again before looking confused.

"But I am?"

"You're mumbling, not eating."

"Oh." They look down at their breakfast, now cold as they continue to chew what's already in their mouth. "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. Just eat first, think later." They nod and continue to eat, only to get that blank look on their face as their thoughts return to square one. He grunts, and it brings them out of their thoughts long enough for them to twitch and give him a sheepish smile. Yeah, he's got to watch them eat now.

He watches them eat silently, making sure that they don't drift off in their thoughts long enough that they eventually finish their food. They scoop him up onto their shoulder and put their dirty dishes away before heading back into the living room. Once there, he feels the nervous energy that radiates from them in waves, and he notices the nervous twitch of their fingers as they pick up the fallen remote from the previous day. Shards are still littered around the vicinity, and they have to walk carefully around the broken ceramics to avoid injury. They make it to the couch and plop down, and he watches as they immediately pick up their phone and stare at it, debating on what to do.

"Hey."

"Hm?" They turn their head slightly to look at him as he nervously taps the tips of his phalanges on his leg.

"Look, if it's really that much trouble, I can just go back and-"

"No!" They quickly cover their mouth, surprising the both of them by the volume of their voice. "I-I mean… It is gonna be… It will be difficult but, we can work through this! No matter what though, I'm not letting her take you away. You… You deserve better." They mumble the last bit quietly, but he's literally sitting on their shoulder so he catches every word they say. He leans over and plants a small kiss on their cheek, resting his forehead against them as he sighs.

"Alright. Just let me know how I can help too, okay?" They nod slowly before relaxing against the couch, dropping the phone off to the side.

"...Yeah. Let's just, take today to relax and stuff. We can worry about other things later." He's about to agree when he remembers the cuts on his human's face.

"No, actually. Let me see your face."

"Huh?"

"Let me see it." They turn more to face him, and he sees the three long scratches and the deep cut from yesterday, guilt seeping into his bones. He could have prevented this, but he doesn't have the time to dwell over his protection strategies. Now he has to worry about making sure they didn't get infected. "We need to get you to the bathroom."

"What? Why?" The lights in his sockets roll around in exasperation.

"Did you forget about the cuts on your face or some shit?"

"Oh. Huh, yeah I guess I did." They give him a sheepish smile, and it's so endearing he almost forgot about how terribly incapable they were at self-care. But he doesn't, because the dried blood on their face reminds him of his inability to properly protect them.

"Come on, we need to get you cleaned up."

"But aren't they dried up already?"

"Better safe than sorry, in my opinion."

"Mmm, alright." They get up and head to the bathroom. He makes them sit down on the toilet and rest their chin on the sink counter after retrieving the first aid kit, and they huff in annoyance when he refuses to let them do anything. "Come on, it's my face."

"And you're MY human, so shut up and let me take care of you." They blink quickly, before grinning widely.

"YOUR human?" He blushes and carefully pours the disinfectant onto the cotton ball.

"Yes, my human. Now can you please let me concentrate?"

"You sure you don't need my help?"

"I got this." No he doesn't. But he's pretty damn determined to make sure that they don't lift a finger to help him, even when a little bit of the disinfectant splashes onto the counter. He quickly wipes up the spilled liquid with another cotton ball and picks up the first cotton ball, now thoroughly to the core.

They eye the ball with unease.

"Now hold still." He presses it to the first scratch he sees and starts wiping it down gently. They whine and squirm a bit, making him huff in annoyance and give them the stink eye. He continues to clean the cuts to the best of his ability, wiping the dried blood of their face and getting as much disinfectant into the cuts as he can. Once he's finished, he grabs some band aids and starts smacking them all over their face. He stands back, admiring the mess of band aids and shrugs. "All done." They get up from their seat and take a look at the mirror, clearing taken aback by the amount of band aids he slapped onto them.

"Wow that's a lot of them."

"Yup."

"...You put all the ugly ones on me!" He snickers.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"So you can stop using them on me."

They whine again, making him laugh louder.

\=\

"Brass, I'm sorry to say but we won't be having a lot of take out for now on."

"Oh, that sucks."

"You don't sound the least bit distressed! Which, is good? I guess? But I'm kinda really bummed out, honestly."

"You can only eat so much greasy food before your human body goes to waste."

" _Rude_. But I guess that's true too…"

"Damn right." It's the next day, and his human is busy with cleaning up the remains of the fight. He helps by carefully picking up the tiny bits that they miss, dropping the slivers into bag with the rest of the shards. They're sweeping the floor carefully, looking around for all the other spots that may contain the shrapnel. He only feels a little bad about the mess - what he really feels bad about was missing the chance to stick it to the bitch.

Heh, yeah he would have stuck something in her alright.

"Well, I guess that's it then." They dust off their hands and turn to Brass with a triumphant smile. "Now to figure out how we're going to survive for the next two years!" They look to the fridge and hum softly. "...How does spaghetti everyday sound?"

"No." He looks at them with shock. "Is that seriously all you know how to make?"

"Well, uh… Does ramen count? And cake?"

"No!" He sighs and rubs his temple. This… This may take a bit of time to sort out. "Look, how about we just go get some groceries or some shit, make a fuckton of food for however long the grub can last us, and then we should be good for a bit."

"You think it'll work out?"

"It'll have to do. Now come on, we need to get some actual food for once."

It takes a while, but once they're finally ready, they head out with Brass peeking out from their jacket's front pocket. He goes over all the recipes that he knows, thinking about what they need to buy, what they can possibly buy, and hoping that his human knows when to stop him from buying too much. A short huff of laughter escapes him, and he wonders if this is what it feels like to be a mom.

"Brass?" They look down at him curiously, wondering what that laugh was about. He shakes his head and waves them off, so they nod and continue to stare out the window. Ah, they were on the bus now. Scenery passes by them as the bus continues on, and for a bit, he's completely at peace. The bus stops just a bit before the grocery store, so his human walks for a bit before entering it. When the doors open, Brass is automatically amazed by all the food he sees.

Damn, so this is where humans get their food.

"Okay, Brass! So uh, what should we get?" They grab a shopping cart and push it towards the vegetables.

"Hmm…"

The shopping trip was… interesting, to say the least. It turns out that his human doesn't really like a lot of vegetables, which probably explains why their diet consists mainly of take out food.

"Okay, now we need some- put those BACK in the cart I am literally RIGHT HERE I swear to GOD- no, don't make that damn face with me, carrots are GOOD for humans."

They bitched and moaned a couple of times, whining about why they had to eat carrots or potatoes or something, but they still complied with his demands that they eat something with substance in it.

When they get to the meat aisle however. Oh boy. The role reversal happened almost instantly.

"No, Brass, you cannot get five packs of beef. That's just way too expensive- do NOT try sneaking that in I see that glow on the meat right there- BRASS."

They both compromised on two things of meat and continued looking for more food.

Once the food trials were over however, the rest of the trip went smoothly. With his human watching the prices and him only getting what he deemed was absolutely necessary (and getting two packs of meat was TOTALLY necessary fuck what everyone else says), they manage to not spend excessively on the groceries. Carrying them back was another obstacle he found out, as his human was amazingly weak. By the time they got to the bus stop, they were wheezing and panting.

And it was only a five-minute walk.

Like, god _damn_. Granted, they did have a shittonna bags, but it couldn't be THAT heavy.

He helps them out by using his magic to support the bags a bit and making it easier on them, but by the time they make it back home, the first thing they do was drop all the bags and drape themselves upside down onto the couch, making him slip out and land awkwardly on their face.

"Oof." They both just lay like that for a bit before Brass pats them on the cheek. "We gotta put the food away." They groan in response. "Come on."

"Fffffiiiiinnnnnne." They slide upwards until they're upright and slowly, they put the food away until the fridge is surprisingly packed. "I've never seen so much food in my life."

"What about when you were a kid?" They laugh nervously. He frowns.

"Anyway, uh. Brass. So. I'm probably going to have a new work schedule." They sit down at the table and place him down on top of it. He sits in front of them and continues to frown.

"And?"

"And?" They laugh nervously. "W-Well, if things go well, then I'm gonna be working a lot more hours. Like… I'll be coming home later, like a lot? Later? Like later than usual late. Like, around the times I'd come home from the bar late. But I uh, won't be going to the bar."

"...Isn't that too much work for ya?"

"Luckily, it's just um, paperwork and stuff. And uh, we always have a lot of it, so like, at least I won't be bored. And uh, that's almost a guarantee that I'll get the extra hours. A-and! At least I'll still have the weekends off!" He shifts about on the table, feeling uncomfortable with this schedule of theirs.

"That's only two days I'll get to spend with you." Guilt flashes across their features, and they bow their head, sighing softly.

"Yeah, yeah I know."

Silence.

"...Hey um, chin-up! I'll take you out to places on the weekends, and you'll still get to see me come home not drunk!"

"I guess." They gently pick him up and plant a kiss on his skull, making him sigh and lean against them.

"I know two years is gonna be a long time for this to continue, but it'll all be worth it. I promise."

"...Yeah."

"Come on, let's go make some food. You know some recipes, right?"

\=\

The next day, they go to work. He helps them pack some lunch and says goodbye as they rush to catch the bus to their workplace. When he settles down to play some games, he finds that nothing really interests him. Candy Crush gets boring after a while, so he turns on the TV.

But even the TV gets boring.

He wanders about the house, looking here and there, exploring every nook and cranny, even taking a nap on his bed. Eventually, when he wakes up, he finds that it's still daylight outside, and that makes him groan out loud. He heads into the kitchen and eats some of the beefcake that they made the other day, expertly avoiding the meaty pieces and regretting his decision to drop slices of raw beef into the mix. Honestly, he wouldn't eat this even if he was starving.

Nothing else happens for a while. He just stares out the window, bored and lonely as all hell as he hopes to see them coming home soon. Instead, he nods off by the window, skull cushioned on top of his bony arms. The feeling of lips pressing against his skull gently wakes him up, and when he peeks up from his arms, he is greeted by the sight of his human. They smile, looking a bit tired but nonetheless worse for wear.

"Human!" He hugs and clings to their face, making them laugh and cupping him against their face.

"Jeez, Brass, you'd think I was gone forever."

"It sure as hell felt like that." He nuzzles their cheek and returns the kiss.

"You're exaggerating."

"'m not."

"Well then, I'm kinda hungry. Let's eat something."

They talk over dinner, them revealing that their boss gave them the extra hours since a good deal of people ended up quitting their job for various reasons their boss wouldn't tell them. Brass told them that he was hella bored but told them not to worry too much about it since he can handle himself.

The next morning, he sees paper and pens spread out on the table for him when the human leaves. Although he has no artistic talent, he ends up spending a majority of his time doodling and scribbling things down for his human. There are a few that he's proud of, so he sets those aside specifically so that his human can see them for sure. He stops every once in awhile to do other things, like play phone games, watch TV or YouTube, and all that jazz. It's less boring than yesterday, but he's still hella lonely. Eventually, he falls asleep by the window and when he wakes up, his human had placed him on the table, and he hears the sound of them warming up some food in the microwave.

Over dinner, he shows them all the important drawings he made, and he can see the happiness that shines through their tired eyes as they take them from him. They make a show of putting the drawings he's proud of on the fridge, and he puffs his chest up in pride. When they ask if he was bored however, he just shrugs and says that he made do.

A few toys are placed on the table inconspicuously next to a fresh stack of paper the next day. They're old and a bit beaten, but he finds a way to enjoy them anyways.

For the next days or so, he finds something new on the table. An old Gameboy. Stencils. A couple of comic books that he needs to prop up and read from a distance. It never ceases to amaze him how they manage to find something for him to entertain himself with, even if some of these things were old and dusty and sort of chewed up. When they don't have some new toy or gizmo for him to use, they give him little treats. Sometimes it's a bit of chocolate, other times it's some candy they purchased on break just for him. One time it was a gumball, and it took him a few good days to properly finish it off. His jaws were really tired after that.

The days he looks forward to the most are the weekends however. It's those days where he gets to go out with them just to take a walk or to visit nearby stores. They never buy anything or eat out, but he enjoys enjoying nature with them. When it's raining, they stay indoors and have movie marathons or clean the house. In the end though, it always ends the same. They go to bed, only to smother him with affection before leaving him

It was Sunday night when they were helping him into bed. He always hates these days the most, because it means the end of spending time with them, and more time by himself. They press their lips to his skull and give him a quick nuzzle.

"Night, Brass. Love you." Just when they were about pull away from him, he grabs their hair quickly.

"Wait."

"Hm?" They look at him in confusion, wondering what it is he could want. He blushes and looks away from them, taking a deep breath before looking back up to give them a shy smile.

"I uh, I love ya too." They blink once, twice, before their face practically beams with their smile. He returns the smile, albeit an awkward one, and feels proud of himself for finally telling them his feelings.


	2. Start of Something New

When the month drew to a close, there was a knock on the door. It was the weekend, and Brass was looking forward to visiting the local mall with his human. Usually he'd let them sleep in so that they could recover, but the knocking had been getting so incessant that he heard them groan loudly from their bedroom. They grumbled quietly as they shambled over to the door. He watched as they opened it and heard the hidden irritation of their voice as they quietly conversed with the person behind the door. Just as he was about to crane his neck to see who it was, the bitch barged through and shoved them to the side.

"Then get the fucking money!" She looks at him and smirks. "Or he's mine."

"Ahh! Okay! Just… Could you maybe chill?" His human had just woken up, so they were still dressed in their pajamas. The bitch looked annoyed with the delay in getting her money, but his human just didn't care. They probably hadn't even let the shock of her appearing sink in yet. He growls at her in their behalf, and they just stumble into their bedroom, grumbling about people being so rude in the mornings. Yeah, they were definitely not registering what was happening yet. He and her were stuck in a staring contest for a some minutes before his human came stumbling back out. They waved the bitch away, still rubbing the grogginess from their eyes. "You can like… I don't know, go wait at home or something."

"Are you serious?" She sneers at them, but at this time in the morning, absolutely nothing could faze them. They stared blankly at her before yawning.

"Yes."

"I am not leaving until I get my money! It was on the contract! You pay me one thousand at the end of the month-!"

"Alright alright, just, stop yelling it's too early for that." They shuffle over to him and plant a kiss on his skull. "Make sure she doesn't like, break anything. You can even bite her or something." He grinned maliciously as they carried him over to the coffee table and placed him down there.

"My pleasure."

"And you," they waved vaguely at the couch, "can sit here while I go to the bank." They pushed past the bitch and left the house, ignoring the offended noise she made by closing the door behind them.

And that was how he got stuck watching the bitch's every move. When she tried to turn on the TV, he snapped at her hand, and when she tried to get up, he growled menacingly. Finally, she lets out a long and suffering sigh, glaring at him as she did so.

"What are you staring at, brat?"

"You."

"Whatever." She looks away from him and out the window, waiting for them to come back with the money. He hunches forward and watches her every move before asking the question that had been nagging him since his abandonment.

"Why the hell did you adopt me?"

"Excuse me?" The tone wasn't polite or questioning.

"I said, why the hell did you adopt me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She smirks and leans forward towards him. "For appearances. BittyBones are the most popular things now, and I have to stay with the trend. Plus, my friends just love cooing over little, inane creatures such as you skeletons. All I had to do was act the part. You did the rest." He clenches his fists against his legs and trying to keep calm.

"So, all of that care and shit was all an act?"

"Of course, I didn't _really_ love you after all. You just made for a nice counter piece." He takes two deep breaths, forcing his shoulders to relax because he KNEW this, he's already come to terms with the fact that she didn't love him, but hearing it straight from her mouth still hurts. It doesn't stop him from asking questions however, because that doesn't explain why she has to extend her terror to his human as well.

"Then why the hell did you suddenly want me back?"

"My friends are coming back for a visit. You know what that means, right?" She grins, and had he not known any better, he'd even she looked friendly.

"I am not goin' back with you." She waves a hand dismissively in the air.

"I know. That fucker of yours seems willing to do anything to keep you with them." He nearly loses it when she calls them that, but he can control himself, he's better than her. "And besides, I get loads of money out of this little deal of ours. Enough for me to get another little pet." Nothing deserves to be under her care. It's a cruel and unusual punishment for anyone in his opinion. But…

Maybe there is one bitty who can put her in her place. Someone who won't take shit from her. Before he can say anything else however, his human returns with a packet of money, still yawning as they throw it at her head.

"'Kay there you go, bye." They pull her off the couch and shove her out, locking the door just in case she tries to come back in. When all of that was done, they slide down against the door and let out a low whine. "Braaasss."

"I'm comin', I'm comin'." He climbs down from the coffee table and makes his way over to them. They're already curled up on the floor, arm covering their eyes so he pats their arm to get their attention. Immediately, a hand curls around him and he's snuggled up against their face as they breathe softly. He leans against them and sighs, listening to the ticking clock in the background.

"Braaaass."

"Hm?"

"I'm so tired…"

"Are ya? Maybe you should take a nap."

"Hnnrghh… Wake me in a couple hours."

"Heh. Yeah, I will."

He doesn't. Instead, he curls up by their face and naps with them, not caring about going to the mall since he still gets to be with them. They sleep like that for the rest of the day.

\=\

"Hey, how did you have enough money to pay her?" They were running out of food in the fridge, and so they were out buying a few things to make some more food for later. He was perched on their shoulder, mumbling into their ear to help them find the fresher vegetables available.

"Huh? Oh. Lucky I guess. I still had some money left over from all the past years and whatnot, so I've got enough to fill in the blanks. Plus there's my savings account, but it's pretty meager so I didn't take too much out of it. It's better that I still work overtime though, because depending on my leftover money isn't going to keep us afloat for long."

"I see. That one looks better, take that one."

"Thanks. You wanna get some candy after this?"

"Hell yeah." The rest of the shopping trip goes without a cinch, and they end up eating parfaits for a special treat. He's already halfway through a parfait when they speak up, their foot tapping the ground rhythmically.

"Hey, do you get lonely at home?"

"Hm?" He wipes off his mouth before looking up at them. "A little, but I can manage."

"You sure?" They frown as they take a bite from the dessert, waving the spoon around in the air absentmindedly. "I mean, maybe we should adopt some other bitties to keep you company. It wouldn't be too much of a problem and-"

"Look, I'll be fine. We don't need to make our lives more difficult by taking care of another bitty. They might be high-maintenance or some shit."

"But you wouldn't be alone."

"But it'd be less of a drain on your budget."

"I don't think it'd be that much of a problem."

"And how do you know?"

"Because I know so." He snorts.

"That's not much of an argument."

"Still! Maybe we should think about adopting more, you know? At least then, you won't be as lonely when I'm at work."

"...You shouldn't have to worry about me."

"But you worry about me, right?" He gives a reluctant nod, to which they beam at. "See? Worrying is a mutual thing! It means we care about each other, and anyway, I think it'll be a lot more lively to have more family."

"You sayin' I'm not lively enough?" He gives them a mock accusatory glare, to which they gently poke his forehead in response.

"No, but I bet it'll be nice to have people to play with when I pass out."

"Huh, yeah you're right. It's more fun when other people laugh at you."

"Hey!" They quickly finish off the parfait while he snickers, pointing the spoon at him as they swallow. "That was one time. But anyway, think about it, okay? We've talked about it before, but I think maybe we should act on it soon." He stuffs his mouth with the dessert, making an noncommittal sound in response.

When they get home, he looks over to his house and wonders vaguely if there's any room for other possible occupants.

...Nah, not likely.

\=\

It was a new month, which meant that his human had to work extra hard to make sure that their bank account didn't reach low numbers. It seemed like they were getting used to the pace of work, coming home only somewhat tired and eating dinner with him before going to bed. Still, he kept a close watch on them just in case they fell asleep onto their food again. While it was hilarious, it spoke volumes as to how tired they really were at times. It was worrying, to say the least. Couldn't humans get sick if they were too stressed and tired? He thinks he read that somewhere, but he's not sure just how stressed and tired his human is.

He's skimming through a few medical pages on the topic when he hears the door open.

"Braaaass."

"Right here." He waves to them, quickly putting the phone into sleep mode before he's scooped up by them to be given a nuzzle.

"Read about anything interesting?"

"Sorta yeah."

"Ohh, wanna tell me about them."

"Nah."

"Aww." They pout a bit before moving into the kitchen. Placing him down on the kitchen table, they rummage through the fridge before taking out a container of food. Dinner is a casual affair, with them chattering about various things as he expertly avoids the topic of what he was reading earlier. While they're waving a fork around and talking about what they want to do over the weekend (they never talk about work for some reason), he watches the tired slump in their posture and studies the faint hints of exhaustion in their expression and he can't help but wonder, were they really going to be okay living like this for the next two years? They start to mumble over their dinner, so he coaxes them out of their seat and helps with cleaning the table.

It's when they amble into their bedroom and almost walk straight into the door that he feels that gnawing guilt in his chest again. They told him before that they didn't really do much at work, just sat at a computer and filed papers and stuff, but he wonders if that's actually all they do. He's not even sure what their work is all about, but apparently it has busy seasons and is a constant source of stress for them. What if they did other stuff too? Like, going out and getting coffees or something. Were they running around the office trying get papers to other people?

How much were they lying to him about their job?

An impulse to follow them to work arises, but he quickly shoves it down. He can't do anything to stop them or make them work less. They can be surprisingly stubborn, and if he secretly follows them to work somehow, they'll be very upset with him he thinks. Or at the very least, very disappointed. The thoughts follow him to bed, and he wakes with them already on his mind. He watches as they leave with a weary goodbye, and he thinks that maybe they're not as used to this new work schedule than he originally thought. He looks over to his phone and wishes not for the first time that he could actually use it as a phone. Maybe being able to contact them would make things easier for them at work? Or would that make things worse? He sighs to himself and tries to distract himself with something to do.

They left him with a small bouncy ball today. He picks it up and bounces it around. It bounces onto the ground, against the wall, into him a few times, and eventually rolls to a stop by his house. He takes his phone and drags it into his house, leaning it against the walls of his room and settling down on his bed.

At least in here, everything seems less big and empty.

\=\

The days grow repetitive. They leave, he entertains himself, drowns in his thoughts, and then they come back home. Dinner is served and eaten, small talk is made, and they both go to bed. Lately they've been taking him to bed with them. As he lays curled up by their face, he wonders if they're doing this out of guilt or because they need some comfort from his presence. When a hand presses him closer to them, he thinks it's a mixture of both. The only good thing that arose from the situation is that he gets to go out with them more often. Outings on the weekends are the only things the two of them ever look forward to now, and it's on these days that he can feel happy and content with them, forgetting for a while the situation that drains his human almost every day.

But when they go back to work, everything becomes dreary. Boring. Lonely. It's like when he was living with the bitch, but now it's worse because his human is just trying their hardest to make enough to keep them both fed and warm while making sure she doesn't come after them like a loan shark. He misses them every minute of the day, but there's nothing he can do to help them when they come home. The least he can do is provide them with little doodles and art, which always makes them beam and relax. It hasn't even been the end of the month yet, but the fridge is already completely covered with his drawings. They've commented on getting a binder for him, since there's one around here somewhere, but he declined without missing a beat. As much as the organization would be nice, he knows how much they enjoy looking at the pictures on the fridge. But other than that, there's nothing much he can do. It makes him feel useless. It's a terrible feeling, so he distracts himself yet again with something else, like staring out a window.

It's been sunny lately and as he looks out into the front yard, he wonders not for the first time if he should just let them adopt another bitty. It certainly beats being home alone all the time with only his thoughts for company (and lately, they've been a real bitch to him). He's about to leave the sill when he sees a flash of white in the grass. Startled, he turns back to the window when he spots a bitty carefully traversing the yard. Brass squints and realizes that the bitty is wearing a blue, ratty hoodie with an equally ratty pair of shorts. The small skeleton looks like a Sansy, one of the original batch of bitties he realizes. He's carrying what looks like to be a bread crust, and the bitty looks as though he's hungry as all hell.

This was certainly a sight Brass wasn't expecting to see. The Sansy doesn't notice him watching from the window, or rather, maybe he's pretending that he doesn't see Brass watching him as the skeleton slowly increases his pace.

He looks abandoned.

Bitterness swells up in his chest as he remembers his own experience with his own abandonment. It was the first time he understood the true cruelty that humans held. And now he was witnessing yet another example as the Sansy disappears from sight. A part of him briefly laments not getting any contact out of him, but he also knows that the bitty will probably be saved by his origin mother. He's heard that she always comes to save her bitties, so he turns away from the window without much of a care. The Sansy will be okay. It's not his problem anyway whether he lives or dies really.

At least, that's what he keeps telling himself anyway. He finds himself back at the window the next day, staring out of it and half-consciously looking for the Sansy to return. It takes a few hours and a few videos, but the skeleton returns, this time lugging around a piece of a muffin. When he gets close enough, Brass raps on the window. The skeleton hesitates before continuing his trek. Brass frowns and knocks on the window again. He stops completely this time, turning to the window with an impressively lazy grin plastered on his face. As if he hadn't just gone through someone's trash for some food. He gestures for him to come closer, but the other skeleton just shakes his head, gesturing the distance between the ground and the window sill. The Sansy shrugs and continues on his falsely merry way, the piece of muffin held closely to his chest. And just like that, he's gone.

Brass doesn't leave the window, not even to greet his human when they come back. He doesn't turn when they approach him either, and when they pick him up for his normal dosage of kisses, he doesn't let his eye lights stray from the window.

"Brass? Is something wrong?" He turns to meet their concerned eyes, so he just shrugs easily and shakes his head.

"Nah, but uh, I think I wanna stay home fer the weekends fer a bit."

"Really?" They look absolutely confused, so he pats their cheek and nods towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, but it's cause I wanna make somethin'. Nothin' really special really."

"Mhmm. So did anything happen today?"

"Well, uh. We can talk about it over dinner. You're probably hungry and shit."

He doesn't reveal the Sansy's existence, but he does say that he would like to make a ladder or two or few in order to climb up furniture more easily. It's not a lie - he really would like easier access to the couch and tables and shit - but he does hope to have one ladder to hang outside, whether it has to deal with the Sansy or not. Frankly, exploring the front yard wouldn't be a bad way to waste away the time. Plus, he thinks that they would appreciate a gift other than his multitudes of bad drawings. They hum softly, and he thinks for a second that they'll say no, but instead they smile and nod. He lets out a relieved sigh, and the two of them finish their dinners quickly before heading off to bed.

The rest of the week passes relatively slowly. He catches glimpses of the Sansy, but the other skeleton spares no time hustling across the front yard to wherever he hides. Brass won't admit it, but a part of him wants to watch over the Sansy as if they were in a pack or something. Except they ain't, and it makes no sense as to why he apparently cares so much for this one bitty. Maybe it's because he hasn't seen any other bitties since he left the adoption place? It's probably that and his loneliness that's making him this way, that's got to be the reason. Still, it doesn't stop him from watching for the Sansy each day until Saturday.

When it comes to the promised day, his human breaks out some yarn and a dirty glue gun. The yarn is musty and the color is faded, and the glue gun is covered in various artistic messes. Glitter covers the handle of it, and Brass swears he saw the yarn quiver when they dropped it onto the floor. What the hell got trapped in there? He prays that it's not a spider.

It's not a spider as it turns out. A mouse peeks its head out from the mess of yarn and it only occurs to him just how long that pile of yarn was hiding in the closet, and his human shrieks and jumps around until they end up on the table, still screeching at the top of their lungs. On the plus side, it's not a bug. He can handle a mouse. They're easy prey after all. The only problem is that he's not hungry, and what is his human going to do with dead mouse anyway? They still need his advice with cooking meat, so it'd be a waste asking them to try cooking the mouse.

He ends up chasing the mouse away. It skitters away to some other part of the house, much to his human's dismay. Maybe some other time he'll get rid of the pest. But right now, he has to coax his human off the table and onto the floor. It takes a while, but they calm down and eventually settle down next to him with a heated glue gun and some yarn. He helps them braid it, holding the pieces of yarn together while they do the real work, braiding the yarn tightly together to make it strong and stable. After braiding several pieces of yarn together, they reinforce it by braiding three of the pre-braided bundles together, making a weird rope of yarn once the braiding is done. He helps them by pulling the yarn taut, leaning back slightly to make sure that it's as straight as it can be. When it comes to assembling the ladder, he watches as they carefully tie two of the smaller ropes to the bigger one, then twisting the small ropes together and tying them to the other big rope. The hot glue keeps the newly made step from sliding up and down the ropes, and his human continues to follow this pattern until a wonky looking ladder is made.

They test it out on the couch, with them holding the ladder to the edge and him carefully climbing up it. He tests how stable it is first, placing one foot cautiously onto the first rung. It holds firm under his weight, and the dried glue keeps it from moving around. Slowly, he climbs up the ladder, stopping as it sways to and fro occasionally. When he reaches the top, they both let out a sigh of relief.

"Well then, that's one ladder done! How many more do you want?" He scratches the back of his head, counting the places that do need ladders plus the one he's going to sneak to the window.

"I dunno, how 'bout three for now?"

"Sounds doable." They nod to themselves and get to work, him helping them whenever he can. His mind wanders as they continue to make the ladders, their happy jabbering making for excellent background noise. He goes through the motions, thinking about the Sansy outside their house, wondering to himself if he would actually come up to the house and talk to him once the ladder was made. Would Brass have to go out and talk to him? His human wouldn't mind opening the window for him (probably), so maybe this wouldn't be too much of an issue.

"Brass?" He snaps back to attention, turning to his human before he realizes that he'd been staring out the window this entire time. They look at him with curiosity, hands still braiding the yarn together as they glance over at the window. "Did something out there catch your attention?"

"No."

"Oh, was it something else then?" He hums to himself and tugs a bit at the yarn.

"Somethin' like that."

"Are you gonna tell me sometime?" They look back down at the rope, their tongue sticking out a bit as they finish it off. He looks back at the window, and he's unsure whether or not he actually feels concern for the other bitty, or if he just wants someone to help him pass the time.

It's too early to decide that, he figures.

"Once I find out more, yeah I will."

\=\

He convinced them to let him have a loose ladder to hang onto, just in case he wanted to climb down somewhere more quickly. They went out and bought some earring hooks and carefully glued it onto the ends of the ladder, testing it to make sure that the hooks would stay in the ladder. After a few tests or so, they gave him the thumbs up, and he carefully folded the ladder up and stored it in his room.

When it was time for them to go to work, he convinced them to leave the window open for him. They opened them without a word, already in a rush to make as they place the phone on the sill for him. With a quick peck on his skull, they squeaking out a goodbye, telling him to be careful with the window.

"Don't fall out and stuff!"

"Don't worry, I won't."

"If you see that lady again, make sure to hide or something. I don't know what she'll do."

"Alright, don't worry." They close the door behind them, and yell out one more goodbye as they walk away waving.

What they don't know can't hurt them.

He climbs onto the window sill, ladder hanging limply from his shoulders. Looking around, he realizes that the sill is too tough for the hooks to stay in place reliably. Stabbing and stomping the hooks in is proving to be difficult, after all. He removes the hooks from the sill and looks around some more. The window is wide and a breeze ruffles the curtains next to him. It gives him an idea, so he tries stabbing the hooks into the fabric. The fabric doesn't tear or rip when he pulls roughly on the ladder, so he deems it strong enough for him to use. He leaves the ladder hooked into the curtain and turns to watching the yard with the vague hope of seeing the Sansy.

Time passes slowly, and he's just discovered the MarbleHornets when he hears a shuffling noise outside. He looks outside and spots the Sansy walking at a quick pace, his posture slightly bent as though he was trying to look relaxed. It didn't work, but he'd at least give him some credit for the effort.

"Hey." He calls out to the Sansy, making him freeze before turning his attention to the window. The skeleton's expression remains calm and relaxed, however Brass notices the slight protective hunch of the shoulders as the other replies.

"Sup."

Silence. He watches at the Sansy sizes him up, eye lights searching his posture and expression. Brass does the same, looking over his ratty appearance and the shadows under his sockets. Something doesn't seem right.

"Why are ya here?" The Sansy shrugs and shoulders the food he probably scavenged from one of the trashcans. It looks like the remains of an old sandwich. There's no telling how old it is.

"Just getting some take-out. I don't have _loaves_ of time to chat buddy, but uh, _lettuce_ catch up some other time, 'kay?"

"You can't just leave like that."

"Watch me." The Sansy winks and starts to walk off, sandwich held carefully over the ground. The little fucker wasn't going to escape him so easily however. Brass quickly threw the ladder down over the sill and quickly climbed down it, racing across the lawn and grabbing the back of his hoodie. The Sansy grunts and looks over his shoulder, easy smile wavering just enough. "...Buddy."

"I'm not your buddy, pal."

"And I'm not your pal, buddy." This was already off to a rough start. He sighs.

"Alright, listen, ya know somethin's wrong when a Bitty starts wanderin' a neighborhood for a week or so. Doesn't the lady who made ya guys come and pick you up and shit?"

"If it was that easy, you'd see a lot less Bitties on the street."

"So what are ya sayin'?"

"I'm saying," the Sansy bats Brass' hand away and continues to walk forward, "that I got a lunch date with this take-out. And I, for one, would like to have some alone time with it." Brass is about to stop him when his own stomach growls, so he growls back at it in retaliation. The Sansy just snorts and waves backwards at him. "See ya around, maybe."

"Wait a second-" Before he can get another word in, the Sansy disappears into the bush, leaving Brass to stand in the yard by himself. How fucking rude. With a growling stomach and nothing much left to do, he climbs back into the house and grabs his lunch.

Watching videos and reading up on the latest creepypastas aren't doing much for him however, and his mind starts to stray back to the Sansy.

In the end, he settles for napping at the window, hoping by that point, his mind would settle down and let him think about other things.

\=\

A routine was created after that day. His human would open the window, and he'd sit diligently next to it, waiting for the Sansy to arrive. Sometimes he'd show up, sometimes he wouldn't. It didn't stop Brass from waiting however. They didn't talk much, as the Sansy would always figure out a way to squirm himself out of a conversation, so this time, Brass was prepared.

He had food. Actual, fresh food made by his human for lunch. He had requested that they make more than usual, explaining that he needed to food "just in case". They didn't question him, instead watching him curiously before nodding and making another sandwich. And here it was, sitting on a plate innocently next to him as he waited for the Sansy to show up. After perusing some sites and playing some Candy Crush, a soft rustle outside the window caught his attention.

Ah.

There he is.

Brass quickly lowers the ladder down and grabs the sandwich. As he approaches the ladder, he realizes that he wasn't capable of climbing down it with the sandwich. He just wasn't stable enough to manage that. Thinking quickly, he left the sandwich on the plate and descends down the ladder.

"Hey!" The Sansy turns at the sound of his voice, looking as tired as ever. He wasn't carrying any food scraps this time.

"Uh, hey." Brass quickly came to a stop in front of him, noting that the other skeleton's face was looking sort of... gaunt. Which was surprisingly impressive since they were both skeletons. Still, it didn't sit well with him. "Listen, if this is gonna be one of those awkward conversations again, then I'm kinda not in the mood for it. Can ya save it for next time?" He's about to walk off when Brass grabs his shoulder, forcing him to a stop. The skeleton stiffens, before turning to stare at him with empty sockets. "Buddy." His tone is threatening, and he sounded nothing like the usual carefree skeleton that he portrayed himself to be. "I said I wasn't in the mood." Brass wasn't scared of him one bit.

"I have food."

"...What?"

"I said I have food. I got some extra, and you can have it." His grip on the skeleton doesn't relent, and he watches as the lights return to his sockets, the Sansy looking mildly shocked as Brass pointed up towards the window.

"Really? You're gonna give me your food?" He sounds almost hopeful, while at the same time doubtful. Brass didn't care however. He was determined to give this skeleton the sandwich, because he sure as hell was not going to attempt eating both of them.

"Look, either you take it or don't."

"I'll take it!" The words come out as a rush, before the Sansy quickly shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, looking away in embarrassment. "I meant uh, yeah, sure I'm… game."

"Uh huh. Yeah. Well," he looked towards the window and gestures to the ladder, "the only way you'll get it is if you climb up the ladder."

"What? Why?"

"Cause I'm not bringin' it down fer ya, and you look like you're starvin'. So I'm gonna make you eat it right now." It was only a guess, but he took it that the lack of finding any food was making the Sansy more moody than his usual calm self. It didn't take a genius to figure out an empty stomach could lead to grumpy skeletons. The Sansy didn't look to pleased with the situation, but he conceded anyway and started climbing up the ladder. Brass couldn't help but grin.

Finally, they were getting somewhere.

The Sansy was already examining the sandwich carefully by the time he got to the top. The shorter skeleton was lifting up the bread and sniffing the contents before checking the bottom of the sandwich. Brass let out a huff, drawing the Sansy's attention back to him.

"It's not drugged ya know. You can eat it just fine."

"Oh, uh, right." The Sansy looked around the room before settling down and taking a quick bite of the food. Brass sat down next to him, watching as he ate ravenously with no restraint. The dude really was hungry. Had he not been eating or something? At around a third through the sandwich, the Sansy immediately stopped eating and pushed it away. Surprised by the action, Brass sits up straighter as the Sansy stands up and uses his magic to carry the rest of the sandwich next to him. "Welp. See ya."

"Hang on wait a second!" He grabs him by the hood, jerking him back and making the other skeleton grunt at the action. "Why didn't you finish the sandwich?"

"Cause I'm not hungry."

"Like hell ya ain't! Where are ya goin' with the rest of that sandwich?"

"Why do you care?" The Sansy turns to stare at him, his sockets revealing nothing as Brass felt his skull sweating. Why did he care? He was just some random Sansy wandering the streets that he happened to see almost every day. Well, he was the ONLY random Sansy he saw wandering the streets almost every day.

It had to be his loneliness. It just had to be.

"Maybe I'm lonely as fuck, maybe that's it." It doesn't really justify anything, but he lets go of the Sansy anyway and looks off to the side, burying his embarrassment from the semi-confession.

"Is that it?" He doesn't look the Sansy in the eye and grumbles instead.

"Yeah but whatever. You can just leave and shit."

"Well, I guess I'd be a bad guest for just leaving after you fed me." He turns to stare at him in shock, and the Sansy softens his gaze when Brass continues to stare. "Heh, looks like I've got some time to spare."

* * *

 **A/N: And thus begins the Sansy Arc. Oh and uh, before someone tells that the Reader seems out of character in the first bit. They're not. Believe me. All will be revealed eventually.**


	3. Tell Me, Tell Me

It's strange.

It's strange having someone else to talk to who isn't his human. Someone who is his height (well, maybe shorter to be honest), is a bitty AND a skeleton, and knows what it's like to be abandoned. At least, that's what he thinks is what happened. The Sansy sets the sandwich down and slumps lazily as he sits. He closes one eye socket and looks up at Brass with that easy grin of his, waiting for the conversation to start. Brass rubs the back of his skull and wonders what he should ask that won't make the Sansy regret staying here with him.

"So uh…" Shit, is it even okay to ask someone if they were abandoned? Probably not. "Do you just eat trash everyday?" The Sansy's sockets widen slightly, and just when Brass thinks that maybe he should have worded that better, the Sansy chuckles and shrugs.

"So you really do watch me everyday then. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Honestly? No."

"Huh. Where's your owner?"

"My human works. They're pretty busy nowadays." A feeling of guilt makes his soul tremble, and he knows that they're doing this all for him, working themselves to the bone and coming back exhausted. It must be obvious on his face, as the Sansy's expression softens and he leans forward to gently pat him on the arm.

"You must be really lonely then."

"Only when they're not here. But they're nice. They're gentle. They do their best."

"Heh. Yeah. I know what you mean." The Sansy looks out the window fondly, as if seeing something that Brass can't. He wonders what it is that the Sansy sees, and then he wonders if the Sansy is more like the him now than the him before.

"Why are you goin' out and gettin' scraps then?" The Sansy's pupils go out as he lowers his gaze.

"...That's quite the uh, touchy subject there, pal." He wants to ask even more now, but at the same time, a bit of his compassion urges him to drop the topic. Instead, he looks at the sandwich with a pointed stare.

"Alright then, what about the rest of that sandwich? Who's that going to?"

"Me, in a sense." The Sansy shrugs as his pupils return, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets and laying back onto the floor. Looks like he'll be here for a while then. Brass takes the moment to ease his guard just a bit and slouches forward. The other skeleton doesn't seem to pose much of a threat anyways, so why worry so much about this completely, non-threatening bitty? He rubs his cheekbone and realizes that this Sansy suggested that he was about to take that sandwich back to his hiding place and eat it all himself. Judging by the size of this bitty, there was no way the Sansy could finish a whole sandwich by himself and still be able to move around. Brass stares at the lounging bitty, perplexed by his statement.

"You, in a sense?"

"That's right. Don't need to look to hard. I mean, if it weren't for that bandage on your skull, we'd practically look the same. It's almost as if we're both skeletons. Skele-twins, you could say." Even though he couldn't see the other skeleton's face, he was almost sure that the little motherfucker was winking yet again.

Skele-twins?

Sure, they may be skeletons, but they looked nothing alike. For one, the bitty's skull was still fully intact. His skull was rounder too, not sharp and angular like his, like someone had chipped away at Brass' skull until they were satisfied with how scruffy and beaten he looked. This guy however…

He just looked tired.

Worn out.

Like the world was moving too fast for him, and all he wanted was a break. It showed with the dark circles under his eyes, the way he slouched, how he presented himself as lazy. How easy it was to quickly touch a subject the Sansy didn't like.

Despite how different they looked in appearances, the Sansy was in a much worse shape than he was. At least the bitch fed and clothed him, and not long after that, his human came by and cared for him. But this guy? How long has he been on the streets?

"So, skele-twin," the Sansy sits up, and Brass can't help but notice the reluctance in the other's movements, as though he really didn't want to get off the floor to sit up, "since there's nothing else of interest you want to ask me, how 'bout I ask you some questions instead?" Brass opened his mouth to protest, but really, what else could he ask?

Why was he on the streets? Where was the other half of the sandwich going? Where did he sleep at night? How long had he been on the streets? How was he still alive?

Why was he abandoned?

As much as he wanted to ask him these questions, he knew that the Sansy wasn't going to answer him. So he closes his mouth and nods reluctantly. The Sansy eases himself forward, allowing his shoulders to slump in a remarkably lazy way.

"Great. So, does your owner always make this much food?"

"Oh uh, yeah, I guess."

"That's a lot of food for a bitty."

"Is it?" He thinks over the sandwiches that they usually leave him, and he shrugs. "Never really thought about it."

"Heh, guess so. Kinda just amazes me, that you can eat that much. Even when you look so… boney." The Sansy winks, and Brass can't help the snort that escapes him.

"They keep me well fed. Take care of me and shit."

"Sure looks like it. Didja get hurt or somethin'?"

"What?"

"There. The band-aid on your head." The Sansy points to the small, round band-aid that covered his wound.

"Oh, this?" The tips of his phalanges brush the edges of the band-aid, the throbbing pain just at the back of his mind. "It's normal."

"No offense, but uh, that looks like it hurts." The Sansy's pupils focus on his band-aid, and the expression on his face is a mix of curiosity and caution, probably because he wasn't sure if the band-aid situation was a touchy subject or not. Well, honesty was sort of his strong suit.

"Yeah, yeah it does. Sometimes it becomes unbearable."

"Oh. Sorry for asking."

"Nah, it's fine. It's kinda normal for me." He rubs the back of his skull, watching as the Sansy's sockets widen just enough to show his surprise.

"Normal? A skull wound is normal for you?"

"Well, I mean," he shrugs as if the constant pain in his life wasn't really that bothersome, "I've had it for as long as I can remember. Other Brassbitties have the same wound, so it's, uh, normal, by our standards."

"But it hurts?"

"Yeah but, I have meds. And my human, they do their best. They clean it and crush some painkillers for me."

"So… You don't worry about like, overdosin' or somethin'?"

"Overdosin'?" Brass looks over the Sansy's expression a bit, and he can see the worry that's etched in around his smile, as if the smile isn't any more fake than it is now. "No, not really. Guess it has somethin' to do with being a magical skeleton. Besides, they're pretty careful. Don't think they'd let me die that easily."

"Huh. This human of yours. They seem nice."

"Yeah. They are."

"You seem to love them a lot."

"Well, they did a lot for me."

"Did they?" He looks out the window, a faraway look in his pupils. Brass follows his gaze and stares at a tree swaying in the breeze. The sky was dyed a soft shade of orange, the sun setting slowly in the backdrop. It was getting a bit late. He returns his gaze to the Sansy, the other skeleton still lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah, they did." The Sansy blinks slowly, before closing his sockets and shrugging.

"Good for you then. I can't say the same for my human, but who am I to complain?" He opens a socket and widens his smile. "Not that I blame 'em. But y'know, not everyone can win." He stands up and brushes some imaginary dust off his ratty shorts. With his left hand up in the air, the sandwich returns to hovering next to him as the ever present smile is directed back at Brass. "Heh, it was nice talking to you, but I gotta _skull-_ daddle." The feeling of surprise distracted Brass from the nicely made (ergo, bad) pun, and he quickly stands up.

"Huh? Now?" Despite it being a bit late, his human wasn't going to home for a few more hours or so. There was no rush for the Sansy to go now. Maybe the skeleton was worried about his human coming back and getting upset at the Sansy just appearing and taking his food. "There's no rush. My human's not comin' home for a while, and even if they came back early, they wouldn't mind you here."

"As much as I _relish_ the time we're spending together, I'm kinda missing the deadline for my usual nap. And a nap's more comfortable in familiar settings, y'know?" The Sansy shrugs and makes his way to the ladder, left hand still in the air as he stares at the ladder.

Oh yeah, like hell Brass was just going to let this bitty risk death for a nap and a half-eaten sandwich.

"Let me just hold the damn sandwich. I'll give it to you when you get to the bottom." The Sansy hesitates, looking him in the socket with an unsure smile.

"...Right. And how are ya gonna get it down to me?" Brass' pupils roll about in annoyance, lifting his own left hand up in the air, the plate which held the sandwiches hovers a bit off the sill with his own magic.

"Magical skeletons."

"Oh, right, whoops. Guess I can be a bit brainless huh?" He accents the pun with a wink, and Brass can't help but snort as the plate is lowered down.

"You're not the only one, pal."

"Guess so. There's probably millions of skeletons out there." The Sansy lowers the sandwich onto the plate and quickly makes his descent. Brass peers over the edge, watching as the other skeleton carefully makes his way down.

"Human-wise or Bitty-wise?"

"Both!" He lands on the ground with a soft "oomph" and raises his hand up. "Ready when you are." Brass responds with a nod, carefully and slowly raising the sandwich off the plate, out the window, and down to the Sansy. There's a split-second where the sandwich drops as he releases the sandwich from his magic, but the Sansy catches it with ease. The laid-back skeleton salutes him and walks away, leaving Brass to wave at his retreating figure.

It's only when the Sansy is almost gone that he realizes something and quickly cups his hands around his mouth.

"Relish ain't a condiment for sandwiches!"

A distanced laugh responds in turn.

\=\

It's strange.

He finds himself sitting by the window again, keeping a lookout for someone, waiting for them to appear, but unlike the first time, he isn't filled with hopeless hope, waiting in vain for someone to show up when they didn't even want him. It's different, because this time, he's waiting for a skeleton to stroll across his lawn, most likely hungry, probably tired, and friendly enough that he can crack puns with him.

It's different in a way that he doesn't have to worry about being without a home because he has one with his human, and instead of being filled with worry and apprehension, he's calm and instead filled with a hope that isn't hopeless.

It's also strange how he now finds himself making sure that two separate beings are being fed properly.

Speaking of which.

"Eat."

"Hm?"

"It's late, you need to finish your dinner and get to bed."

"Hwah?" His human looks up from their phone, a distracted stare that switches between himself and the dish in front of them, their fork abandoned on the table. He stops himself from sighing and gently takes their hand, lifting it up and placing it back on the fork.

They've been getting more distracted lately. Usually it didn't bother him that much that they spaced out every so often, but now… Now they space out way too much. Forgetting to eat, stopping in the middle of changing their clothes, staring into the mirror in the morning - that was just a few things they started doing a lot now.

"Eat."

"Oh. Right."

It used to be amusing at first, but now it's just worrying.

So he asks the same question.

"You alright?"

And they responded in the same way.

"I'm alright. Just a little tired." A smile.

He looks down.

His plate is empty. It has been for a while. His human's plate has to be cold by now, and by the way that they're slowly pecking at what remains of their dinner, he takes it that they're not feeling so hungry now either.

"Maybe you should just go to bed now."

"Hm? Oh. Well… I guess so huh?" They laugh weakly and take his little plate and theirs to the sink, leaving it there for them to wash later. By now, it's normal to see the plates pile up, as they only have time to wash them on the weekends. They push the remains of their food into the trash before plopping it on top of the growing pile, going back to scoop Brass up. As they carry him to his house, he tugs on their shirt and gets them to look down at him.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Can I… sleep with you tonight?" They blink in confusion, slowly processing his words before they smile and nod.

"Of course, I don't mind." And so, they quickly change into their pajamas and climb onto their bed, Brass already waiting to climb up onto their chest. He rests his skull against them and listens to the steady beat of their heart, focusing on the rhythm as the quickly drift off to sleep.

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

It's okay, they're here. They're alive.

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

But still… why won't they just admit it?

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

They're not alright.

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

What is that they really feel?

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

Why won't they tell him?

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

He sighs. Their light snores fill the room, and he can't do much but fall asleep with them. What else can he do? They don't want to tell him a thing, probably because they think they'll just worry him more. But he's already worrying, so why try to stay silent? He wishes they would talk to him. Although, now that he thinks about it, maybe they're just too tired to talk to him?

...He wishes he knew what the real answer is.

It's in this way that he ends up drifting to sleep. When he wakes up, he finds himself laid out on a pillow, his human already done changing and staring into the mirror. He sits up quietly, looking over their figure as they sigh softly. Their shoulders are slumped, and he could only guess that their expression could only show exhaustion.

"...Human?" They look at him over their shoulder, mild surprise coloring their features.

"Oh, you're awake. Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Uh, no, you didn't. But, are you going to work now?"

"Mmm, yeah. I think it's gonna be pretty busy today too."

"Oh. You know, maybe you could take a day off? And, maybe, spend some time with me?" As much as he wanted to pretend that it was because he missed them, which, in truth, he really, REALLY did, he just wanted to come up with an excuse for them to take the day off. Their look of guilt however, told him otherwise.

"Brass… I'm sorry, but I don't think I can take a day off just yet." He knows he shouldn't feel disappointed, it's not really that much of a surprise, but his soul sinks just a bit anyway. The thought of them working themselves to death seems very real and very likely at this rate.

"If that's the case… Can we just stay home this weekend? I don't really wanna go anywhere for a while."

"Oh. Okay then…" They turn back towards the mirror and finish dressing up.

For some reason, they look a bit skinnier than usual.

\=\

"So you're sayin' that they're workin' themselves to the bone?"

"I'm startin' to think that it might be quite literal at this point." Brass sits with the Sansy once again, the two of them munching on Brass' half. The Sansy hasn't touched his half yet, but Brass doesn't find it in himself to really complain about the sharing. To be honest, he doesn't know if he has the stomach to even eat his own half.

"Literally, huh? Those aren't even the best kinds of jokes."

"Mmm." He stares out the window, not really bothering to finish his share of the sandwich. "...Do you think that… if they didn't take me in, they'd have an easier life?" The Sansy swallows slowly, looking out the window as well as he thinks.

"...Honestly? Probably."

"Yeah, I thought so."

"But, the fact that they're going through this much effort to keep you around? Means they care for ya."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The Sansy pats his shoulder, not bothering to look as he does so. "Take it from me, bud. Just because… Just because they're sufferin' now, doesn't mean that'll ever regret havin' you around." Brass huffs quietly. He understands his sentiment, but it's harder to accept them himself. It's so much easier to blame himself, after all.

"I guess."

"Trust me on this one. Who knows? Maybe you're actually helpin' them out in some way?"

"How?"

"By existin'." He says it with such laid-back confidence that Brass can't help but look over at the other skeleton. "Sometimes, just bein' there for 'em makes them feel happier. They appreciate it and stuff, and sometimes, it eases their pain a lot." The Sansy has a familiar faraway look in his sockets, like maybe he's been in a similar situation before. "You can't underestimate the power your existence has over others. It's uh, quite amazing, if I say so myself." There's something about what the Sansy says that makes him curious, so he quickly voices his question before he loses the chance.

"Hey, so uh, what's your story?"

"Huh?"

"Ya know. I got my sob story, I bet you have yer own."

"Sob story? I don't have one." Brass raises an eye ridge at that.

"Really?"

"Yeah. After all," he raises his shoulders in a high shrug, hands and arms poised in 'whatever' sort of posture, "why have a sob story when you can have a hilarious one?"

"Ha ha."

"See? What did I tell ya?"

"Nothing, to be honest." The Sansy laughs and nibbles at the sandwich. Brass knew that, in a way, the Sansy probably wouldn't answer his question anyway. The smaller skeleton seemed against telling him anything about himself, even though Brass was willing to share some details about his life with his human. He wondered what made him like this, or whether it was just natural for Sansies to be this secretive. Either way, he was going to find out why he was out here alone, scavenging for scraps before Brass offered him food.

While he wouldn't admit it, a part of him was worried for the smaller skeleton. Maybe it was because he was a fellow Sans, or maybe it was because the skeleton had the same weariness that hung over him like his human. Something about this skeleton…

Something about the Sansy made him want to protect him, if only for a little bit.

The smaller skeleton puts down his sandwich and faces Brass, looking mildly curious of the other skeleton. Brass can't help but wonder if he was the first bitty the Sansy has talked to. It looked as though the Sansy, reluctant or not, did enjoy listening to him ramble occasionally about his human, so maybe there was something he was itching to know. Of course, Brass was more willing to share, simply because there was nothing to lose (unless…nah, he won't think about that possibility).

"Heh. Now that you've asked your question, it's my turn to ask the question."

"What? When did we have a system?"

"Since now."

"But I never agreed to this?"

"Us sharing this sandwich sealed the deal."

"How?"

"Clearly, we are sharing some intimate…" He pulls out a pickle from the sandwich and winks. "...dill-tails."

"...Pfft. Holy shit. Were there always pickles in there?"

"Does it look like I know magic?"

"Not with that empty skull."

"Exactly." They both laugh for a bit, an easy air of comfort spread between them. It was nice to be able to laugh with someone else for a change. It was nice to be able to laugh in general. As much as he loves his human, they haven't exactly been in a complete state of lucidity lately to crack jokes with him like before. Now, they just want to eat dinner and go to sleep. It's… he feels his soul clench. No, he shouldn't be thinking about this now. At the very least, he can enjoy some time with the Sansy before has to leave. Where does he live anyway? Maybe he'll be able to ask that question when they get closer.

If they get closer.

The Sansy eats the pickle and clears his throat. "So, I'm kinda curious. What IS your human's name?"

"Their name?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Their name is… Hmmm… Huh. Funny story about that." Brass scratches his skull and blushes slightly.

"Y'know I'm all about funny stories."

"I don't… actually, know… their name." The Sansy's sockets widen in surprise, making Brass look away out of embarrassment. For all the love and care he has for his human, after all these months, it sure is awkward that he hasn't gotten around to actually KNOWING what they are called, asides from "human". In response, the Sansy sighs and shakes his head.

"...Except for stories like that." Brass awkwardly laughs as the Sansy continues to stare at him with a mildly incredulous expression. "How do you not know their name?"

"Uh, we didn't exactly get off to a good start at first." He recalls him snapping at his human after they offered to tell him their name. Now that he actually thinks about it, he sort of regrets not getting their name.

"Aren't you guys on good terms now? Why not ask them when they get back?"

"...Probably. But I might just keep calling them 'Human' instead."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask. Trust me. You'll want to know their name in the long run."

"Probably."

"Hey, you don't gotta do it, but at least it'll be a conversation piece." The Sansy looks over at Brass' forgotten share of the sandwich and grins easily. "So, you gonna finish that?"

/=/

Despite the Sansy's coaxing, he finds it very difficult to just go up and ask his human for their name. Probably because the last time his human offered to tell him their name, he harshly turned them down. But it shouldn't be an issue now, right? They'd still totally want to tell him their name, probably.

His human was eating their dinner slowly, their food being pushed around their plate as they seemed to contemplate actually finishing the meal. He hopes they'll eat it all tonight; they've been eating less and less lately, and honestly, he's starting to think that they've started skipping lunch too. They yawn, stretching their arms above their head as they put their fork down with finality.

"I think that's enough for today." He frowns, staring at the half-finished dinner.

"It doesn't look like you had enough."

"Oh, um, I ate a big lunch today."

"Do you have big lunches every day?"

"Y-yes?" They were lying, unsurprisingly. He sighs and pushes his empty plate away.

"Can you try eating a little bit more anyway?"

"Umm…" They stare down at their plate, biting their lip and rubbing a hand anxiously. "...Do I really have to?"

"Yes." He looks them over, taking note of how they've managed to lose so much weight. They were going to be a skeleton too at this point, and as far as he knows, humans turning into skeletons is a very bad thing. "Just, try. You don't look like you've been eating a lot lately."

"Well… I'm already full, and I kinda want to go to bed? I'm really tired."

"Just a few more bites, please? Yer way too skinny." It was honestly worrying how they were so steadfast on not wanting to eat. Starving a body was never good, and to be honest, he knows how being starved feels.

It's not a pleasant feeling.

"Okay, okay… Just a couple more bites, right?" They pick up the fork with a weary hand, looking at the food with mild disgust.

"At least three." He watches as they groan, forcing down a few more bites of their food before picking up their and his plates and moving them to the sink, dumping them onto the growing pile before he can even start to make them eat more. Without speaking, they offer him a hand and he climbs onto it, carefully holding onto their fingers as they carry him into their bedroom. At this point, it's become routine for him to sleep in their bed. The last time he went to sleep in his little house, he woke up to the sound of them pacing around the house at three in the morning, muttering and biting their nails. He thought that maybe he started sleeping in their room more often because he was worried that they might not wake up one day, but now, he wonders if his human was the one who started the routine, seemingly craving and finding comfort in his presence, sleeping easily once they know he's there.

Maybe it's a mix of both.

Now, it's become almost expected that he'll sleep with them. He doesn't mind, really, he doesn't, but he worries all the same. It riles him up, eats at him when he sees how stressed and tired they are. And yet, he can't do a thing but make sure they sleep, eat, and still manage to live.

" _You'll want to know their name in the long run."_

...Was the Sansy hinting at the fact that they might literally work themselves to death? He didn't like the thought and quickly banished it from his mind.

Still…

His human places him down on the bed as they go to the bathroom to change. As he watches the door, he can't help but wonder if maybe, maybe there was more to just knowing their name. It was probably better than just calling them "his human". They were more than a title after all. They come out of the bathroom, yawning and turning off the lights before flopping onto the bed, narrowly avoiding Brass. He climbs onto their chest and listens to their heart, the steady rhythm a reassuring sound to hear.

The room is quiet, the sound of crickets chirping softly outside the window. He has to ask now, before they fell asleep and he forgets to ask them in the future.

"Hey, human?"

"...Hmm?" The sleepy reply was a sure sign that they were about to pass out. He better ask quickly.

"What's…. What's your name?"

"My… name?"

"Yeah."

"Huh… I never really told you, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm… Well… I mean, I do have a name but… No one has really called my name in… A while? I guess? So… I'm not so… Used to hearing some… one… say it…" He crawls up to their face and paps it gently. They huff and cup his back, a single finger lazily stroking his cheek.

"Don't fall asleep yet." They snort and give a short laugh.

"I won't. That'd probably be sorta… rude to you, haha. But my name… huh?" They go silent, finger still gently stroking his skull as they think it out. "Hm, tell you what. I don't… really like my name that much so, uh, maybe, I can just… tell you my nickname. The one everyone… calls me by." They yawn, and he feels them shift slightly on the bed. Looks like they were about to fall asleep. He paps their cheek again to get their attention.

"Why won't you tell me your name?" He can feel their finger still, before the soft grip they had on him before tightens slightly.

"It's… I don't like it, much. I'll… I'll tell you, one day…" With the way they reacted, he hardly thinks that their trailing sentences had to do with their sleepiness. "So… I hope my nickname will do for now."

"...Yeah. I don't mind."

"Okay." Their grip relaxes. "My… nickname. It's… people just uh… They call me like… B."

"...B?"

"Yeah… It's uh, not the best? But, it actually? Stands? For something?"

"Like what?"

"Uh, one of my uh, most used nicknames."

"...How many did you have?"

"A lot?"

"...heh. Of course you did."

"I'm telling the truth." They huff and move to nuzzle his skull. "B was just a handy way of shortening a lot of my nicknames since, well, a good number of them started with… B. So. It was, the go to, back in school. And now… it sorta just… stuck? Plus, it helps when writing memos. Don't gotta spell out a whole name, just a letter."

"What, even your co-workers use your nickname?"

"The nice ones, at least."

"Huh. Well, at least there's nice people in the world."

"Yeah…" They relax under him, and he crawls back down to their chest. As he positions himself just right, he looks over at his human, their breathing already coming out in steady rhythm.

"Hey… B?" He feels their heart beat just a bit faster. Did that… make them happier?

"...Yeah?"

"I… really love you, B."

"I love you too, Brass." He smiles to himself, a slow realization coming to his mind as he relaxes against them.

B was the first letter of his nickname too.

* * *

 **A/N: That took way too long and I am very sorry OTL.**


	4. One Day We'll Laugh Again

**A/N: Because we can't forget that this is a READER-insert fanfic too.**

* * *

It hurts.

Your body hurts so much.

You feel sore and tired and lethargic all the time.

In other words, this sucks. You can hear your bones popping a bit as you move, so you stretch out your body, trying to keep yourself awake and moderately alive.

The coffee you chugged down earlier isn't really doing much either. You wonder if it's because the caffeine just isn't enough, or if it was taking longer than usual for it to work. It's probably none of the above however, and you're starting to think that even caffeine is starting to have second thoughts about being in your body.

The paperwork in front of you is greatly annoying. All the words are too damn small and your brain is too damn tired to try and make any sense of it, so you lean closer to the paper and squint like your life depends on it, and slowly, the words start to resemble something other than squiggles.

And then you realize that the words aren't really making any sense either, so you put it aside and start doing something else. Your manager gives you more than enough work anyways, so there's bound to be something that'll make sense to you soon.

"B!" As if he had an idea that you were thinking about him, he calls your name and waves some paperwork in the air. Oh joy. You suppress the sigh that threatens to come out and make your way over to him. He hands you the stack of paperwork and looks you right in the eye. You stare back, absolutely sure that he can see just how dead you are on the inside. He gives you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. The sigh comes out in the end.

"Where do these documents need to go?"

"To the shredding room, please."

"Alright." Before you can even turn, he squeezes your shoulder.

"You know, you can always work normal hours. You don't have to keep ruining your health like this." It's quietly spoken, but the concern is clearly evident on his face anyways. You're not sure why he's trying to be quiet about things like this when his face can be easily read like a book. A very blunt book at that. Thoughts of Brass pop into your mind, and that damned abuser weasels her way in as well. You grip the papers tightly, crinkling them and making them look un-document like.

It's a good thing these things were going to get shredded.

"I know, but I've got someone depending on me right now, and we really need the money so…" He sighs and releases your shoulder.

"Alright. I can't stop you, and the boss seems really eager for more people to work longer hours anyways. Just get some more rest on the weekends."

"Yeah, I plan on it."

"Also, you reek of coffee. How many cups have you had?"

"So many." You walk away before he can chat you up any longer, making your way down to the shredding room to dispose of the crinkly papers. And then it's back to the grind, sitting at a desk, looking at more paperwork, looking at your computer screen, tapping on the keyboard, delivering documents, running off to get some things for the other higher ups, and so on…

God, that sounds horrible when you put it all together like that.

Just get to the room already.

Your feet move automatically towards the general direction of your goal, ignoring the other working people who look only slightly less miserable than you.

Asides from Jenny.

Jenny is always smiling.

Too smiley in fact.

You're pretty sure she lives off of energy drinks though, so that might be the reason. Rumors say that she hasn't had any sleep since two months ago. That's crazy. You hope it's just a rumor. Otherwise, shouldn't she be dead by now?

Holy shit, maybe she's a ZOMBIE.

Since your mind was too busy thinking about the living ball of manufactured energy that was Jenny, you fail to notice the running body that failed to notice you.

"Ah!" You drop your papers in surprise and quickly bend down to pick them up. "Sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"No, it's fine!" Another hand reaches down to help with the fallen papers. "I didn't see you either! So I guess, uh, we both messed up?" You can't help but look up at the speaker. The hurried and frantic look on their face reminded you of how you used to look when you first started working here. Were they new? You look over at their side and notice the cup holder filled with drinks and realize that yes, they were new. That was a job they usually gave to the newer hires to get them accustomed to the layout of the building. Also, it was nice to send someone out for drinks so that one didn't have to get up and get them themselves. They hand you the papers with a sort of nervous grimace, so you pat them sympathetically on the shoulder.

"It's okay."

"O-oh, um, thanks?" You smile encouragingly, because you know what it's like to be a nervous wreck when it comes to new things, and help them stand up.

"Yeah. Some of the people here are pretty nice. You'll be fine."

"R-right…" Once they stand up, you realize that they're actually kind of a bit taller than you. You have to look up into their face to speak with them properly.

"Better get those drinks delivered."

"R-right!" They quickly bend down to pick up the drinks and rush off to finish their task. You hold the papers just a bit tighter this time and walk off to your destination.

They had very nice green eyes.

/=/

The sky outside has already darkened quite a bit, but this paperwork in front of you still hasn't made the least bit of sense at all. At least you can still input whatever information you can discern from it into the computer. Even though you loathe admitting it, at least numbers are easier to decipher than all these other terms.

"Hey, B." Your manager comes around and knocks on the cubicle wall. It doesn't really make sense as to why he does that when he already announces his arrival the minute he appears. Why bother knocking? Nonetheless, you turn your attention towards him.

"Yes?"

"Pretty much everyone else has already left. Better clock out now before the building locks us both in."

"Right, just let me put my stuff away."

"Of course." Your manager wanders away, probably to go remind some other overworked employees to head home before they all pass out. In hindsight, it's not such a pleasant thought to think about, but goddamn do you need the money. You put all the documents away in a secure place, locking up your desk and logging off. As you gather all things and head towards the door, you hear your manager speaking quietly with someone, to which they respond with a nervous squeak. Sounds like another pep talk. He was known for that.

When you leave the building, the cold weather brushes against cheeks and causes you to shiver. As you wrap your jacket closer to your body, you briefly wonder how Brass is doing. He likes to hang out by the window, a habit that you think developed since the day he was abandoned, and with the window being open all the time now, you hope he's doing alright with the upcoming chilly weather. Do skeletons get cold? Well, you'd think he does given the jacket he wears almost all the time, but does he actually need it? What if he just wore it for aesthetic? You snort at that. That edgy jacket with your sweet skeleton was such a weird mix. But maybe it was important to him. It wasn't like you were going to stop him from wearing it anyways.

You sit down on a bench, waiting for the bus to come by so that you can go home. Exhaustion was ready to settle in your bones, and whatever hunger that was rumbling in your stomach earlier was gone now, so you weren't too sure if you wanted to eat anything. However, as you think back to the other days when Brass was clearly upset over your lack of appetite, the least you can do is eat a little.

"O-oh!" You hear a familiar voice and look up to meet those green eyes from earlier. You wonder if this is the same person your manager was giving the pep talk to. It wouldn't surprise you, they were new after all. And a bit skittish.

"Oh, hey there." You pat the empty space next to you, gesturing for them to sit down. It wouldn't do any good to keep them standing anyways. The bus didn't come for another thirty minutes or so. They sit down next to you, fidgeting and looking nervous. It takes a while to realize that you didn't feel so nervous, despite how wary you were of others. Probably had to do with the fact that you felt incredibly dead inside, and that worrying about what strangers could potentially do to you was nothing compared to what that abuser would do to Brass if you didn't get your shit together.

Take a deep breath.

"So, um, you take this bus too?" They speak up, looking towards you with curiosity despite the little nervous twitch of their fingers.

"Yeah."

"Do you think that we live around the same neighborhood?"

"Um, maybe."

"Y-yeah." They look down towards their hands and wring them a bit. Just watching them act nervous is making your nervousness bubble up too. Dammit, just when you thought you had some control over yourself, these old emotions come back and rear their ugly head. You turn your head to avoid watching them and slowly try to calm yourself. They don't even look harmful. Remember, that abuser is much worse, so stop being so suspicious of everyone.

A silence grows between the two of you, leaving you feeling somewhat relieved as you take out your earbuds and plug them in. You need to relax. Maybe then you won't feel as tired when you get back home. Once the music starts to play, you hunch your shoulders and focus on that.

When the bus comes and picks you both up, you're already lost to the world of tunes as you watch the world pass you by. Vaguely, you realize that the weekend is coming soon, and you wonder what Brass wants to do then. Maybe the two of you will go out? It's been awhile since you've both done that. Or maybe he'll just keep you home and coddle you again? For such a tiny skeleton, he manages to care for you just as well as a normal sized human. It's weird, but also comforting in a sense. But at the same time, you still want to do something with Brass that doesn't involve him taking care of you.

The bus drops you off at your normal stop, and when you stop to readjust your shoulder bag, you realize that someone else came off with you.

It's the new hire. They stand there, looking just as surprised as you, and somehow, they look just a bit relieved as well. What were they worried about?

No, wait, do you even care? They're just another colleague, no need to think too much about them. However, you see their mouth moving, so you take out an earbud and let them catch up to your side.

"So I guess we do live in the same neighborhood then!"

"Looks like."

"Um, yeah. I guess we're neighbors in a way?"

"Seems like."

"Ha… That's nice to know, at least." They smile at you, and you return a more forced one in response. The two of you walk with silence hanging between the two of you, and when it comes for them to turn into a different cul-de-sac, you wave them goodbye and continue on your way. When the familiar form of your house appears, your pace quickens considerably. Soon, you'll get to see Brass again. Soon, you'll be able to pass out on your bed and get some much needed sleep.

You open the door, and a more genuine smile appears.

"Hey, Brass."

"B!"

/=/

Luckily, you managed to eat about half of what was on your plate, which, while Brass probably would have wanted you to eat more, was acceptable for now. The bed was your real goal, not food. Bed is soft. Bed is warm. Bed is where the sleep is. Dressed in your pajamas, you clamber onto bed and lay down, waiting for Brass to plop himself down on your chest again. His familiar warmth and weight comfort you greatly, and you cup a hand around him, just to be safe.

You're about to drift off when you feel Brass patting at your chest.

"Hey. B."

"Hmm?"

"I think I made a friend."

"A friend?" The comment rouses you more awake. "When?"

"We just started talking whenever you're at work. He eats lunch with me. He tells me about himself, sometimes. Sorta. A little bit."

"Is he a human or…?"

"Nah, I wouldn't talk to random humans on the street. He's a bitty, like me. Just a different kind of me." Suddenly his request for a ladder makes all the more sense. It's always been a question at the back of your head as to why he really needed a ladder, but you didn't question it. You just assumed he would stay out of trouble, and so far, he has.

"So that's what that last ladder was for, huh?"

"Uh… yeah…"

"I'm not mad, Brass."

"Yeah, I know. Just feel sorta bad fer trickin' you like that."

"You didn't really." You gently stroke his skull. It's pretty late, but you haven't had a good chat with Brass in a while, so you suppose you can sacrifice an hour or two of sleep for him. "I'm just glad you're not lonely while I'm gone."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." You yawn and feel your eyes start to drift close.

"Hey, B?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think…?"

"Think what?"

"Mm, nothin'."

"What is it?"

"I was just thinkin', y'know."

"About what?"

"'Bout my friend."

"What about him?"

"I was thinkin'... maybe we can offer him a place to sleep or somethin'. Like you did with me." This gets your attention.

"...Is he like you?" He doesn't respond immediately, and you're starting to think that maybe his abandonment hurts him more than he's willing to admit when he finally sighs.

"To be honest, I dunno. I mean, it LOOKS like he's abandoned. But at the same time, he doesn't really tell me much about WHY he is, or why he won't stick around much."

"Trust can be hard to build." You can't help but think about how long it took for Brass to actually start to trust you before he was willing to admit he wanted to stay with you instead of her.

"I know that much." He picks at your shirt's fabric before sighing again. "I just wish he'd actually talk to me about himself. And not about all that other mundane shit. It's so easy to see that he's hiding so much shit behind that grin of his."

"Hmm." A feeling of sympathy and… relatability springs up inside you. "Maybe he's got a reason for doing so."

"Yeah, well, wouldn't it be better for him to get it all off his chest anyway?"

"Sometimes people just don't want the past to be brought up again. Sometimes they just want to forget."

"But is forgettin' really worth bein' stuck in one place forever?" He grips onto your shirt tightly. "I dunno about you, but forgetting things just ain't movin' on. You're just buryin' that shit. And when it comes back, it just bites ya in the ass." The conversation strikes an uncomfortable nerve inside you, so you quickly try to bring it to a close.

"I think… I think you should just give him some time. Maybe he's still recovering. There's no use in trying to force someone to talk about themselves if they're healing over something recent."

"...I guess." Mentally, you let out a sigh of relief. That was too close from getting into territory you were not prepared to revisit. Or remember.

Yet, anyway.

You think.

"Just… Just be patient with him. I'm sure, when he's ready, he'll tell you."

"Yeah."

"Right." You yawn once more. "Mm, I think I'm gonna fall asleep for real now, Brass."

"Alright, B. Let's go to bed."

"Let's."

/=/

"There's not enough coffee." You're grumbling to yourself in front of the workplace coffeemaker. Whoever it was who took whatever was left of the coffee failed to at least get another brew going, and now you're the one who's got to make a new one. You rifle through the cupboards, searching for the coffee bag when you realize that it's on a shelf much taller than you.

Oh dammit.

Just your luck.

You groan and look around for a stool to help you get it. Instead, however, a hand shoots forward and grabs the bag for you.

"Uh, here you go!" You look over your shoulder and see a familiar face smiling pleasantly at you. Ah, it's your sorta-neighbor.

"Thanks." You take the bag from them and immediately start replenishing the coffee maker. The machine whirs to life after you jab a few of its buttons, and the two of you wait for it to chug along. Your feet start to tap impatiently on the ground, the need for caffeine growing larger by the second. You never were really patient when it came to things like this.

"So, um," your neighbor speaks up again, looking a bit nervous, "how do you take your coffee, usually?" A faint echo of a joke resounds in your mind, but you quickly shake it off and answer honestly.

"A little bit of milk, a little bit of sugar. You?"

"Black!" _Don't try to sound tough, you sissy._ No, stop that. Wrong response.

"Won't it be really bitter that way?"

"Haha, yeah, that's what a lot of people say. But, I kinda like it that way. It's a nice wake-up punch in the morning."

"Oh, well, I guess that's one way of looking at it."

"Yeah. Do you like yours to be sweeter?"

"A little bit, but not a lot. I kinda do like the bitter taste, but sometimes the bitterness is too much for me."

"Fair enough!" They lean back against the counter and watch the coffee maker. "So, have you been working here long?"

"Not really. Started around the middle of last year."

"Ohh, so, not too long then."

"Yeah."

"You and the… manager?"

"Right."

"You two seem to get along pretty well."

"He's nice to everyone, plus he was my upperclassmen back in college. He's one of the reasons why I even knew about this job."

"Oh, so, there's a history between the two of you."

"Not really. We just ended up in a lot of the same classes together. He knows me, I know him, he's pretty fond of me in that way."

"Are you fond of him?" You shrug.

"I guess. I mean, we're not close, but it's nice to see a familiar face every once and awhile."

"Oh, so, do you talk with your friends from college then?" Your chest starts to tighten, and you focus your gaze on the coffee maker.

"...Nah."

"Why not?"

"Huh, you're really getting into the private details now, aren'tcha?"

"Sorry, sorry." An awkward silence fills between the two of you. You shuffle your feet a bit, staring at everywhere but them when the coffeemaker finally dings its completion. Immediately, you grab the kettle thing - you've heard it's called a carafe or something before, but who even calls it that - and pour yourself a cup. You hand it over to your co-worker and start adding in the necessities as you listen to them pouring the freshly brewed coffee. Just as you turn to leave, your co-worker grabs you by the arm, gently you notice, and looks at you apologetically. You raise an eyebrow and look at them with half-hearted curiosity.

"Uh, yes?"

"I'm, I'm sorry for being invasive like that. I just got curious, and uh, I guess I got carried away." They rub the back of their head sheepishly before wrapping it around their coffee cup. "So, I hope I didn't make you upset." They remind you of a timid child. Huh.

"It's alright, just, hm, remember your boundaries next time, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." They perk up a bit and follow you out of the break room. Their cubicle is somewhere else in the building, so you wave them off and head to your own workspace, the document hell making you groan inwardly.

Now you wish you're back in the break room, making another brew of coffee.

You sit your butt back down and take a few gulps of the caffeine. Words briefly show up on the page before fading away into squiggles and you sigh softly, picking up a stapled stack and going through it slowly.

As the words start to slowly form in your mind, you begin to draw your eyes towards the more important parts of the paperwork. Quickly, your fingers start to type in the information necessary for the database, fingers pausing to flip the sheets every once in awhile.

 _Type type type._

 _Flip._

 _Type type._

 _Flip._

 _Type, click, shuffle._

 _Flip, flip._

It's all so tedious.

 _Type type type._

 _Click click, type._

 _Type type, flip, type._

 _Flip, click, shuffle._

You rub your eyes, trying to keep yourself from falling asleep from boredom.

 _Shuffle, click click._

 _Type, type type._

 _Type type type._

 _Type, click, type._

 _Flip._

Another sigh escapes your lips. Surely, there was something else better to do than staring at paperwork all day, than staring at your computer screen all day, than wasting away in your chair all day.

It's truly busybody work. You're barely even exerting energy. And yet.

You look over at your clock, the soft ticking drawing your attention as it always does. It was barely even the afternoon. The ticking sound continues, as though taunting you about the long hours ahead of you.

This really shouldn't be tiring work.

 _Type, type, click, shuffle._

 _Type type type, flip._

 _Click, flip, type._

 _Type._

But all you really want now is a nap. It's so tempting to just lay your head down on your arms and sleep.

 _Type type._

 _Type._

Knowing that you'll have to keep this up for the next two years, it fills you with… dread.

 _Type type type type._

 _Flip, shuffle, type._

No, don't think like that.

 _Type type type type._

You're doing this to keep Brass in your life.

 _Type type type click type._

You're doing this to keep Brass safe.

 _Type type type type shuffle flip type._

You're doing this for him.

 _Type typetype type type fliptype._

Losing him, it scares you.

 _Typetypetype type type typetype click type._

You can't lose him, you don't think you can handle living alone ever again.

 _Typetypetypetypetypetypetypetypetypetype._

He's the only one you really trust.

 _Typetypeytypetypeshuffletypetypetypetypefliptypetypetypetypclicktype._

You're doing this for him you're doing this for him you're doing this for him you're doing this for him you're doING THIS FOR HIM YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR-

"Hey, the manager told me to come get you for lunch and- hey, are you okay?" A familiar voice breaks your from your thoughts. You blink once, twice, before looking up at them.

"Huh?"

"You were uh, pounding at that keyboard pretty hard."

"I was?"

"Yeah, it was pretty… loud?"

"Oh, I didn't notice."

"Yeaaaah, so, um… Wanna take a break?" You look down at the keyboard, your fingers having a slight tremble to them.

"...Yeah. A break sounds good right about now."

/=/

As it turns out, your coworker doesn't work overtime as often as you do. What a concept! So, like usual, you find yourself boarding and disembarking the bus alone. You walk back home, eyes ever so focused on the ground when you notice some movement ahead of you. You look up and see a little skeleton carrying a half-eaten sandwich with them.

Well, carrying isn't really the right word.

It's more like, they were kind of hovering the sandwich next to them, the food aglow with a blue tinge to it. You express your surprise in the most eloquent way possible.

"Huh." The skeleton freezes, looking up at you with barely contained surprise.

"Huh." He, you're assuming anyway, mimics your response, looking you up and down quickly. You do the same, noticing his ratty blue hoodie and torn shorts. He looks a bit shorter than Brass, but at least his skull is intact. He's also got this grin on his face that doesn't seem to… move. It's like it's permanently glued to his face. You can't help but wonder if he really does just smile like that, or if the smile really is stuck like that. "...Welp."

And with surprisingly quickness, the skeleton runs off into the bushes and disappears just like that.

...You're not really sure what to make of that situation. He looks like another stray, or another abandoned bitty, but he didn't seem to want to do anything with you. In a way, he reminds you of Brass when he was first abandoned.

Skittish.

Suspicious.

Alone.

A sinking feeling enters your chest, and you squeeze your eyes shut.

You don't have time to take in another bitty. You just can't.

Shaking your head, you continue your way home, walking quicker as the thought of seeing Brass again motivates you to exercise more energy. He makes the long days a bit better, seeing him smile when you get back. It's been a long time since anyone smiled at you like that.

It warms you to the brim, and you shove the sight of that other bitty away from your mind. Right now, you just want to focus on Brass.

Your house comes into view, and you speed up just a bit, even if your legs protest a little. It's okay. The faster you get home, the faster you get some rest anyway. You can just see Brass by the window, brushing off some crumbs from the sill into the front yard. It's your quick footsteps that tip him off to your arrival, making him look up. A warm smile adorns his face, and he waves happily to you. You wave back, and instead of heading towards the door, you just walk over to the window and lean against it.

"Cleaning up just now?"

"I figured I might as well." You recall him mentioning having a friend possibly.

"Did your friend come over?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, he did." He brushes himself off. "Left a while ago. Stayed a bit longer than he intended, but it's all good, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean," he shuffles his feet a bit, "it wouldn't hurt fer him to stay the night. Dunno why he's gotta rush off like that, but I guess he likes where he's stayin'." Despite what he says, Brass still looks unhappy about his friend's situation.

"You want him to stay with us, don't you?" He looks up at you with hopeful eyes, and a part of you wonders when he's ever looked at you like that, actually wanting something from you that wasn't already given.

It grips you in a way that hurts, because you don't want to disappoint him, but at the same time, for the first time, you want to decline his request.

It's the first time he's really wanted anything.

It's just for a day.

But you can't.

There's this little thing called attachment, and you're not sure if you can handle another bitty to care for. You're barely managing this responsibility you have for caring for Brass, but if this other bitty stays for the night, would Brass be able to let him go back to his own makeshift home?

Would you?

Uncertainty fills you.

He's still looking at you, with that hopeful gaze.

So you smile.

"...do you think it'll be alright fer him to stay a bit?"

"If he wants to." You hope he declines. God, you feel terrible for thinking that, but you really, sincerely, hope that he declines. You're not ready yet to take on another bitty. He smiles brightly with real happiness, and it's such a mismatch with your fake one that it almost guilts you into dropping the act.

"Okay!" He's so happy.

"I'm gonna go in now. It's starting to get cold."

"Heh, yeah, I was wondering when you would come in."

You make your way to the door and grab the doorknob. A thought makes you pause. Is this his first friend, bitty-wise? It wouldn't be surprising.

Is that why he's so mindful of this new bitty? Why he worries quietly about him?

Which bitty, out of all the strays that wander around, which one of them has Brass met? Have you met this bitty before? Was it the one you saw earlier? You shake your head.

No, didn't you want to forget about that bitty? He's one of the many strays around here, it's not possible that THAT specific bitty was him.

You open the door. Brass stands by, waiting for you to pick him up and take him to the kitchen. Suddenly, the weariness from the day strikes you, and the need for sleep is stronger than ever. And to think that you had the energy to chill outside your house for a little chat with Brass.

The bed calls.

But first, you need to feed Brass.

Thank god for leftovers. You leave Brass on the table and prepare some dinner for the both of you. Maybe you can get away with a small serving this time. It'll be a lot easier for you to finish, and Brass will be happy to see you eat everything. So you do just that, giving yourself less to eat while giving Brass his normal amount. As you put the plates down on the table, he looks over at your plate and fixes your with a worried stare. You wave him off.

"It's okay. At least this time, I'm sure to finish it all."

"...right."

"I promise." He stares at you a bit longer before sighing and tucking into his meal. You look down at your plate and realize that maybe you overestimated yourself.

Despite the smaller serving, it still looks like you've got too much food.

Just when did your appetite start to dwindle so much?

* * *

 **A/N: Wanna kick my ass? Wanna smack me into writing faster? You totally can at my writing blog: jubilantwriter at tumblr dot com. The extra bonus is that you get access to my drabbles and incomplete fics as well! Treat yourself this year and mob me for free haHA**


	5. Please Don't Tell

B was off to work again, commenting earlier about how the payment was coming up soon, so they were going to come home later to drop by the bank. They left him with more food than usual, in case they got home way too late to warm up some dinner. Usually, he would be able to finish off all the food with no problem, but…

"So I had to throw a stick to make the dog go away. Real shame though, I really liked it. But it was _barkin' mad_ for the grub I got, so I had to give it the ol' throw and run."

The Sansy needed the food more than he did. Brass chuckles and nibbles on his sandwich.

"Did you steal the food from it or somethin'?"

"Nah. Well. Maybe. But the little guy was a bit too chubby anyways."

"What was it?"

"A leftover drumstick. I think the little guy might of stolen it from a human, in which I inadvertently stole from him, maybe." The Sansy took a big bite from his sandwich, not holding back this time. There was plenty of food for him to take anyways. Maybe Brass should get him a bag or something to hold all the food.

"Heh. You know, you don't hafta steal food if you just come to my place."

"Yeah but, all you got are sandwiches. I want the good stuff. Gotta get some meat on my bones somehow."

"There's meat in the sandwiches!"

"Yeah but," the Sansy lifts up the slice of bread, slowly pulling out a slice of baloney, "my dude, baloney is not real meat. It's literally the fakest meat in the world. Hence, the name."

"You had ham yesterday!"

"Also fake." The Sansy winks. "Come on, it's sandwich meat. It's about as gourmet as the trash can. And I've found better in the trash."

"Like what?"

"Like hotdogs."

"But isn't that fake meat too?"

"The fakest, most delectable piece of meat in the world." The Sansy smiles blissfully, putting down the sandwich and gesturing with his hands. "Long, solid, with a slight moist crunch-"

"I wouldn't call it crunchy-"

"-with a meaty taste of unknown origins, topped off with ketchup upon piles of ketchup-"

"Okay, that's just you-"

"-with a nice toasty bun to boot. The most gourmet outta all the fake meats." Brass couldn't help but snort.

"I guess they're pretty alright." The Sansy raises an eyebrow.

"And you call yourself a Sans. What do you like better?" Brass smiles, all fangs and sharp angles, a contrast to the blunt teeth the Sansy has.

"Raw meat."

"Woah." The Sansy picks up his sandwich and resumes eating, eyelights flickering down from Brass' face to his food. "That's uh, somethin' I wouldn't try. You didn't sneak any in here, didja?" He acts as though he's looking to see any sign of red stains on the bread, but Brass knows he doesn't really care enough to do so.

"Haha!" He picks up his own sandwich and munches merrily. "No, but the taste of blood is somethin' you don't really get when ya cook the meats."

"Color me surprised." He takes a bite of his sandwich. "Or. Not. I don't think I'd look good in blood."

"Just think of it as red dye."

"Welp, I'm not _dye_ -ing to try out raw meat anytime soon so."

"Pffft." Brass finishes off his sandwich and looks out the window. The sun was starting to set. B wouldn't be back for a long while, and Sansy was just about finishing his sandwich too. He was going to be alone for quite a while. It's been awhile since he was alone. "Hey, uh." He turns back to the Sansy.

"Hm?" He inhales the last bit of crust. "What's up?"

"You wanna stay over?"

"...huh?"

"Ya know, like, a sleepover." He scratches the back of his skull. The Sansy looks surprised, and Brass was starting to get the feeling that maybe asking was a bad idea.

"Uh, listen, Brass." The Sansy gave him an awkward smile. "I uh, can't stay over. Ever."

"...Why not?" He wasn't trying to guilt the Sansy into staying. Honestly, he wasn't. Nor did he WANT to sound sort of dejected and hurt, he really wasn't. But he wasn't going to deny that he was disappointed. "I-I mean, wouldn't it be safer just to stay here?"

"I won't deny that." The Sansy looks out the window and begins gathering up the food in a pile to take back to… wherever his place was. Did he call it home? Was it home? "...But, I can't just loiter around here forever, as much as the company here is great, and the food just as much." He turns to wink and smiles a more genuine smile. "Besides, I still got some things to care of, and a dog to a- _paw_ -ligize to, not to mention my own responsibilities to take care of. Ya gotta nice place, Brass. But," he turns back to the ladder and looks down it. "It's not my place."

They both stood still, neither moving as the sun began to set. He couldn't help but sigh. This looks ridiculous.

"Stop bein' so dramatic."

"Huh?"

"Just get down the ladder already. We're not in some Western."

"Heh, guess not, _partner_." He pretends to tip a hat at Brass, making him snort in response. The Sansy even imitated a Southern accent.

"Come on, I'll help you with the food."

"Thanks, bud." As he begins to climb down the ladder, another question, one that has been present since a while ago, begins to nag at him to say. This one was a bit more tricky, and it made him more nervous since he wasn't sure the response would be a good one.

If there was one. Hell, maybe the Sansy might try avoiding the question. He does that a lot, after all.

"Hey, uh, Sansy, can I ask you another question?" He peers over the ledge and watches as the Sansy safely hops off the ladder to the ground.

"Shoot!"

"Uh…" Well, maybe it was too soon to ask him. They've only known each other for… maybe a few weeks? A bit longer maybe? How does someone make friends anyway? It took forever for him to trust B, maybe he should wait a little longer. "Um, nevermind."

"If you say so." The Sansy shrugs and raises his arms up to catch the food. Once Brass gets the food down, the Sansy waves and walks off.

Brass hopes he actually enjoys their conversations.

He hopes he's not here just because of the food.

\\\=\\\

Ever since he told B about the Sansy, they've been preparing more food for the two to share. At first, the Sansy didn't say anything about the sudden increase in food. He sort of just accepted what was handed to him and ate his share, making Brass feel slightly better as the bitty looked less and less starved. It's when Brass takes out a packet of ketchup that the Sansy looks surprised and suspicious.

"...hey, uh, where'd you get that?"

"Huh? Uh," Brass looks down at the packet in confusion, "didn't you tell me ya liked ketchup?"

"Yeah, I mean, I do, but, you don't usually have them out here. This is… a bit different."

"I guess?" Was something wrong with the packet? He examined it carefully in hands. What was wrong?

"How… I mean, is today a special occasion?" The Sansy grins as though to cover up the beads of sweat on his skull. Brass lowers the packet in worry.

"No…? I mean, my human, uh, I call them B now, they gave it to me when I told them you liked ketchup-"

"They know I'm here?"

"Is that wrong?"

"...heh. No, not really." The Sansy shrugs and takes it from him, but his hands are tense and the smaller phalanges grip the packet just a bit tightly. "Welp, might as well have some, right?"

"Uh, heh, right." It's unusually tense. The two of them eat in silence. He doesn't know what to say. Did he do something wrong? It was just ketchup. Didn't he say he liked ketchup? Well, the Sansy was slurping it down pretty quickly, so he had to like it. But there was still that tense corner of his smile that wouldn't go away, like he was worried about something. Why wouldn't he tell Brass what was wrong?

"Hey." The Sansy speaks up first, dropping the empty packet down between them.

"...Yeah?"

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure." The air around them goes cold, not quite like the world was at a standstill, but like they were the only two people left alive in the world. Brass pulls his jacket closer to his body.

"Do you see those posters out there, the ones with missin' pets or whatever?"

"Uh, yeah, sometimes."

"Does it ever make you wonder why they went missin'?" The thought never really crossed his mind.

"Wouldn't it be because their owner wasn't watchin' them? Or they got loose or somethin'?" What was the Sansy getting at?

"Do you ever think that maybe… some of them don't want to be found again?"

"...that's… y'know, debatable."

"But what if they didn't want to go back to their home? Maybe there was no place for them there. Maybe there was nothing left to call home. But the posters are still up there, and the owners are still lookin' for them. But what if they don't want to come home?"

What the hell happened to this guy?

"I mean, I guess that could happen. But what if they do wanna go home? I can't talk to dogs or cats, but it doesn't look like all of them got lost on purpose."

"Heh, I guess so. But you never know." The Sansy leans back on his hands, smile deceivingly calm and easygoing. "If you ever see a poster for a missin' bitty, it's always better to ignore it."

"What? Why would I-"

"Unlike cats and dogs," he waves a hand in the air, and the empty packet between them crumples up into a ball, "there's always a reason that they're missin'."

"Like… they ran away?"

"Probably. Or that they died somewhere and their owner doesn't know. So. Ignore the posters. There's always nobody to be found anyways."

...Was he a runaway bitty? Why would he leave?

"But… What if the bitty is genuinely lost?"

"Believe me, buddy." The Sansy's sockets grow dark, the eyelights gone and making him look threatening. "If the owner is worth stayin' for, then there's no way they'd stray from their side." Brass could feel himself bristle in response. "So don't. Report. Lost. Bitties."

"...Are you threatening me?" The Sansy closes his sockets and opens them, revealing the return of the eyelights. He winks as though nothing happened.

The chill in the air is gone.

"What's there to threaten?" He gets up, collecting the leftovers and making his way to the ladder, one hand hovering the food while the other carefully holds onto the ladder. "Welp, I gotta go though. The bed calls, and it's starting to get dark. See ya!"

"Hey, wait-" Before he can even finish his sentence, the Sansy already disappears below the edge. He scrambles up to his feet and makes his way over to the ledge, but the Sansy is already walking off with his food.

He didn't let Brass help him carry it down this time. And how did he get down so fast?

A soft voice in the back of his mind reminds him that when in danger, Sanses move faster than usual.

But there was no danger. And the Sansy threatened him first, so technically, shouldn't Brass be the one in danger?

Still…

It made no sense.

He was in such a rush to leave too. Usually he'd linger around a bit, maybe stretch his bones, before taking his sweet time back home. What the hell brought about the sudden abrupt attitude? Brass looks up at the crumpled packet of ketchup.

It was like a tiny soccer ball now. Not that he was gonna kick it around, of course. But still. Just how much force made it to that size?

What the hell just happened?

\\\=\\\

The Sansy didn't come back.

And he didn't come back the day before, or the day before that. Now it was the weekends, and the Sansy doesn't usually come on the weekends, but maybe today would be an exception.

And he _would_ be waiting by the window just in case he did come by... but currently, he was busy watching B and the bitch talk shit out, and making sure the bitch didn't try anything funny. As it turns out, B is a lot more reckless when they were tired and mildly annoyed. Today is payment day, and B was actively going out of their way to make the wait for the money extremely difficult to wait for.

"Just give me the damn cash!"

"Hold on, I need to finish putting the butter on the bread." The bitch stands by the kitchen entryway, arms crossed as she glowers at B.

"Hurry the fuck UP!"

"I'm not done yet." They slowly slather butter onto their toast. Then, with the speed of a snail, they bring it up to their mouth and take a bite. "...needs some sugar."

"UGH!" B has a very petty side to them, it seems. Brass wasn't letting the bitch sit down either, so she was forced to stand, tapping her foot impatiently while B continues to take their time. "You little FUCK, just hurry up and give me the cash!"

"I need some breakfast first."

"Then FINISH!"

"Eating quickly is not good for your digestive tract, I've heard." Very, very petty. It takes a solid hour for B to finish one slice of toast, and they only reason why they even finished it in the first place was because they were getting tired of the bitch's bitching (heh, he thinks that the Sansy would have liked that one) and moaning.

The minute they were done eating, the money was quickly given to the bitch who then stomped out with a huff. At least, B was able to eat something for once. Even if it was out of spite, it was still something.

But he still has to worry about another person to feed.

One who has yet to appear. Did he have enough food? He had been hoarding a lot by the looks of it, but it couldn't all still be good to eat. His attention focuses back on the window. What should he do? Maybe if he drops the ladder down…

"Brass?" B looks at him with concern. "Don't you want to eat something?" There's some raw meat and a cooked egg on a plate for him. His stomach grumbles. Ah, right, he shouldn't neglect himself too.

"Uh, yeah."

"Want me to come get you?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice." They smile and pick him up, placing him down next to his plate. The weariness ever-so-present in their face lessens once they see him return their smile. Right, if they were going to refuse to take more breaks, then the least he could do was make their freetime worthwhile.

"Is there anywhere you wanna go?"

"Uh…" He chews on a piece of meat. Honestly, he doesn't want to go out, but it looks like B would like to treat themselves to something, so he quickly searches his mind for a place to go. "How about… the mall?" The mall has an ice cream place, and he knows how much they love ice cream.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll go get ready while you finish." They get up and go to their room to change and gather their things, leaving Brass alone to mull things over. The Sansy wasn't going to come today, probably. Still, should he leave the ladder down?

...No, B wouldn't let him leave the window open while they were gone. Maybe he should toss down his egg? Wait, no, the sill was pretty far from the table, and he'd look weird trying to run across the living room with an egg hovering above his head. Maybe they would come home early? Well, judging by how tired B looks, they probably would. And when B goes to take a nap, he can wait by the sill for the Sansy to show up. Yeah, that sounded like a solid plan. He quickly finishes his breakfast just in time for B to show up.

"Ready to go?" They offer him their hand.

"Yup." He climbs on and they lower him carefully into their shirt's chest pocket. B added some cotton padding on the inside, making it more comfortable to sit in. But for now, he decide to dangle his arms over the pocket edge, watching as B puts on their shoes and slides their wallet into their pant's pocket. The walk out of the neighborhood is light and easy, filled with chatter about their days, about B's new co-worker who is a little bit too clumsy, and about the Sansy. Brass doesn't mention that the Sansy hasn't been showing up lately though. When they make it to the bus stop, they see another human waiting for the bus already. It puts Brass on guard, and he tenses himself up in case this new human decides to cause trouble for them. However, B makes a surprised noise, drawing the attention of the new human who then brightens at the sight of B. The other human calls out to them.

"Oh! B! Are you going somewhere too?" Brass looks up at B, looking only just a little bit suspicious of this newcomer.

"You know this person?"

"They're, ah, my co-worker." They sheepishly scratch the back of their head, walking closer to the other human.

"Oh, hi!" The new human waves to Brass. "You have a skeleton in your pocket!"

"Oh, uh, yeah. His name is… Brass." B is talking a bit slowly, as though they were still taking in the surprise of running into their co-worker outside of work. This new human has a big grin on their face as they look over both Brass and B.

"Hi, Brass! My name is Casey, nice to meet you!" Quietly, he hears B whisper "oh that's their name". Somehow he isn't surprised that they don't know this human's name yet.

"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you too, Casey." He is less than enthusiastic to meet this new human, but they seem pretty nice, and they looked more harmless than B. "You uh, goin' somewhere?"

"Yeah! I was going to some place, so I've been standing here waiting for the bus. Where are you guys going?"

"Oh, um," B speaks up, recovering from the surprise of this surprise human, "we were going to go to the mall. They have a nice ice cream place there."

"Oh! I'm going there too! I actually have a coupon that let's me get a buy one get one free deal. But I can't actually eat two of them so… do you wanna maybe go together? I don't mind paying! And it'll only be for the ice cream trip! So, wanna hang out for a bit? Please?" Brass looks up at B, watching the inner turmoil as they clearly want to turn down Casey's offer, but apparently, this human has mastered the art of the puppy dog eyes, and he can see B's resolve slowly breaking with each passing second.

"...Sure." They sigh as Casey laughs with excitement. Brass can't help but watch this Casey human bounce up and down with their newfound company.

...Was this human starved of companionship or something? The poor human. No wonder B took pity on them.

\\\=\\\

The bus ride was unexpectedly eventful. Casey seemed determined to make as much conversation between the three of them as was possible, making Brass really start to think that the human was just starved for attention in general. The jabbering continues off the bus and into the mall, where in which B has to lead the way to the shop. They each order their own respective flavors, Casey going with mint chocolate, Brass with caramel, and B with some cookies and cream. He watches as the two squabble a bit about paying, but Casey is waving the coupon in their hand, therefore they have to pay for the three treats, and no, B doesn't need to add tips in, Casey already has that covered too. They end up sitting at a table by the entrance, B digging into their ice cream with wild abandon while Casey watches in amazement as Brass chows down on the ice cream that was clearly bigger than him.

"Woah… You sure eat a lot."

"Nice observation, Sherlock." Brass grunts as he continues to dig in. They just met, there was no way he was going easy on this stranger. "Aren'tcha gonna eat? The ice cream's gonna melt."

"Oh, right." They quickly dig in as well, watching B eat from the corner of their eye. Strange. He watches Casey as well, trying to read their body language and gaze. Casey's eyes meet his, and they smile brightly, as though they hadn't been caught staring at B. He frowns.

B finishes before the two of them do, stretching and getting up.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick." They jab their thumb in the general direction of the restrooms. "And um, behave? You two?" Casey laughs, waving B off.

"It's not like we're gonna fight or anything! And I won't take him away, you can trust me."

"Uh, right. So, I'll be right back." B walks off, entering the restroom and flinching when the door opens with a noticeable squeak. Once the door closes, Casey turns back to Brass, a serious look overtaking the bright smile they had on earlier.

Of course. He tenses up. There was no way that this human just so happened to be going to the same place as them. They didn't even say where they were going initially anyways. He growls, upper lip curling into a snarl.

"What the hell do you want?" They lean back in surprise, hands held up in order to placate him. That, of course, doesn't work, and they fail to placate him.

"Woah there! No need to be aggressive. I just want to ask some questions, is all."

"About what?"

"About B." They place their hands down and out of sight, leaning in closer with concern etched into their frown. "Why are they working overtime all the time? Everytime I see them at work, they're always tired and barely awake. They get the work done well, of course, but they're way too skinny, and it looks like they're constantly stressed. And, y'know, constant stress isn't good on the body."

This human was much more perceptive than he realized.

"...Why should I tell you? Why did you follow us out to the mall? And how long were you at that bus stop?"

"I want to help B. Ditto. And I've been waiting for, a while you can say."

"Creep."

"B let me come along. Plus, I had the coupon."

"Did you plan that too?"

"No, not really. I just sorta had it." They bring a hand back up and rest their chin on it. "I answered all of your questions, now answer mine."

"I still have more."

"Fair trade, buddy. It's only fair that you answer mine before I continue."

"Fine." He steadies his glare and folds his arms. "B's working a lot to make money, obviously. We're sorta in a situation, and we've gotta pay up some cash at the end of every month until we finish paying it off."

"A loan?"

"...Sure. But that's all I'm willing to say." He narrows his eyes, and Casey stares back with a quiet sort of determination, unwilling to back down from whatever aggression he thrusts upon them. "How are you plannin' helpin' B?"

"Hm, good question." They tap a finger against their chin. "I'd say the best way to help them would be to give them some extra cash I have every so often, but they probably won't accept it so willingly. Do you guys eat enough?"

"I do. But B doesn't eat a lot."

"I've noticed." They look over to the direction of the bathroom. There was no telling when B would come out, so they bite their lip and turn back to Brass. "I can keep an eye on them. Maybe make them eat more or something. Make sure nothing bad happens while they're at work."

He doesn't want to think about what they mean by "bad".

"Guess that's better than nothin'."

"Yeah." They tap their fingers on the table. "By the way, what happened that-?" They both hear the bathroom door squeak open, and Casey shuts their mouth quickly. But he understands their question anyway.

The good thing is that he doesn't have to answer it now.

"Oh, are you guys finished now?" B looks over their empty ice cream containers, and Casey smiles and picks them all up.

"Yup! Just finished! Are you guys gonna do anything else at the mall?" Casey breezes into a casual tone easily, like they didn't just say they were going to watch over B at work.

"Oh, no, not really. Unless Brass really wants to."

"Nah." He wanted to wait for the Sansy to return.

"Alright. Then, I guess we'll be going home then."

"Okay! I'll see you at work then!" They sure as hell will. Casey gets up and throws the trash away. B picks up Brass and returns him to their shirt pocket. The two humans bid farewell, with Casey giving Brass a quick, meaningful glance before walking away.

"Huh, what was that about? They didn't even say goodbye to you."

"It's fine." At least he can sort of depend on someone to take some care of B when he can't. "We talked about some things. Don't need to worry about it."

"Oh? Got along then?" They start walking towards the entrance, B looking down curiously at Brass.

"...You can say that."

"Huh. Well, they seem nice at least."

"Yeah, guess so." It's a quick walk from the entrance to the bus stop, which gives them ample time to wait for the bus. Unlike the bus ride before, it gives Brass some time to let his eyes wander around, looking from the mall's exterior to the unimpressive trees and surrounding area. A poster, taped carefully onto a near pole, catches his attention. "Hey, what does that say?"

"Hm?" He points at the poster for B to see.

"That. What's it say?"

"Hmm." B leans forward and shades their eyes. "Uh… Oh, it looks like a missing poster."

"For what?"

"Looks like… a dog."

"A dog?"

"Yup." B looks back down at Brass, confusion in their eyes. "Why did you want to know?"

" _Does it ever make you wonder why they went missin'?"_

"...No reason."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He rests his chin against the fabric of the pocket, not wanting to look at B in the eye.

" _There's always nobody to be found anyways."_

"Just curious."

\\\=\\\

He watches carefully from the sill, looking for that missing bitty. It's been a week since he's last seen the Sansy, and with the weather starting to take a turn for the worst, he's been more than just worried for the other bitty.

It was clear now that the Sansy was avoiding him. For what he didn't know. He got upset over the idea of missing posters and missing pets and bitties, and reporting them-

Wait. Reporting missing bitties? Brass did get a full on threat when the topic came up. Was that what he was so worked up about? Brass wasn't going to report the Sansy if he got threatened not to do it, mostly out of consideration for the bitty rather than fear, but it made no sense for him to just up and disappear like that.

And why was he acting as though there was a threat nearby? It was just him and the Sansy, and nobody else until B got home. No, wait. It couldn't possibly be- no. B was harmless. They wouldn't do anything to bring harm to anyway unless forced to. But he did always leave before B came home. What was he so worried about? And why wouldn't he tell him anything?

Aren't they friends?

...Are they friends?

The wind is howling outside. He looks outside the window and sees the trees thrashing their branches against one another, and there's leaves flying about, recklessly smacking into anything that gets in their path. A leaf manages to fly into the open window, and he jumps up to catch it, touching its damp surface before releasing it back into the wild winds. It's then that he notices a struggling figure in the dim lighting.

There's no mistaking that ratty hoodie.

He quickly drops down the ladder and descends, an arm up to protect his face against the harsh winds. The Sansy is dragging along a dirty napkin, balled up and filled with something. Probably trash food. Brass grabs the Sansy's hand and drags him over to the ladder. He helps him up, pushing him along with the balled up napkin perched precariously on the Sansy's shoulders like a resting bird. They manage to make it inside in one piece, the two of them flopping down onto the sill in an exhaustive state. The howling winds pick up.

"Shit!" The Sansy immediately sits up and takes the balled up napkin. "Fuck, I gotta get back!"

"Like hell you are!" Brass grabs his arm and hangs on tight. "Are you kiddin' me? It's dangerous outside!"

"I need to get back! All my food's-"

"I'm not lettin' you leave!"

"Let go!" The Sansy jerks his arm out of his grasp, only for Brass to get up and bodily lift the Sansy off the ground. He lets out a surprised yelp, his legs flailing in the air as Brass keeps his arms pinned in his hug-hold.

"I'm not lettin' go." Brass grunts as a flailing foot hits his knee. "Not until you tell me what the fuck happened with you."

"Nothin' happened!"

"Bullshit. You've been avoidin' me for a week already!"

"I was out scavengin' food!"

"You could get food from me that's not from the trash!"

"So?! I need to save up-"

"I could easily give you food. Just admit it, you've been avoidin' me!"

"I wasn't-"

"You were-"

"I WAS WORRIED!" The Sansy shouts and he stops flailing. The wind's howling fills up the silence, and Brass puts down the Sansy carefully. This was the first time he's ever heard the Sansy raise his voice, nevertheless yell. The Sansy avoids looking at him, preferring instead to sit down and slump forward. "...I was worried."

"...About what?" He sits down in front of the Sansy, keeping his voice soft and somewhat gentle. It's hard trying to sound nice when his voice is naturally gruff.

"Your human. What they could do. What could happen. I just wanted to avoid this place for a while, I guess. Gettin' food for the future seemed like a good plan."

"B wouldn't hurt you-"

"I know." The words come out heavy and dark, and the Sansy clenches his fists before forcing them to relax. "...I know. They sound like a nice person. All around good human."

"But?"

"That's the problem."

"...They're niceness is the problem?"

"No." The Sansy looks up, and the grin is still there but the lights are gone, and Brass has no idea what to say or do. "They're likeable. And, well, I'm tryin' to avoid humans like that."

"...Why?"

"Can we not have this conversation, like, right now?" The Sansy stands up, picking up the carefully balled up napkin and heads over to the ladder. "I really, seriously gotta get home. Dunno how much damage the wind did but uh, I'd like to get back before the storm gets worse." The winds had died down while they were having their little struggle. Brass tenses up, not trusting the bitty's chances in the unpredictable weather.

"How will I know you'll come back?" The Sansy gives him a weary look, the lights coming back just enough to show how tired he was.

"You really want me to come back that much, huh?"

"The weather is gettin' terrible."

"Welp, can't deny that."

"Why can't you stay?"

"Cause I can't. And don't want to. No offense."

"Why?"

"Long story."

"I can sit and listen."

"I really gotta go, buddy. Look, the wind's calmed down and I really gotta get my eats goin' before the storm blows away whatever I have left." Brass sighs. There was just no way he could get the Sansy to stay.

"...Will you at least come back?"

"If the weather is good."

"And how can I trust you to come back? After that week-long disappearance?" The Sansy doesn't say anything. A part of Brass' soul sinks. Maybe he didn't really want to come back here. He just didn't seem to want to stay around Brass for so long.

It was like he was being rejected all over again.

"...Here." The Sansy puts down the balled up napkin and removes his hoodie. A dirty, stained tank top was what was left on his top, and the Sansy was looking away from Brass. "This'll make sure I come back. You know us Sanses. We're pretty fond of, uh, our jackets and hoodies." Brass takes it, feeling the material and noticing how worn out and thin it felt.

"...Thanks."

"Yeah." The Sansy picks up the balled up napkin and quickly starts making his way down the ladder. Brass quickly makes his way to the ledge and looks over it to make sure he gets down okay. The Sansy is on the ground, looking back up at Brass with an unreadable look on his face. "...I'll come back this time."

It's not a promise, Brass realizes as he watches the bitty run away briskly. It's not a promise, but Sanses were never that good with promises anyway.

It's a reassurance. But to who it was directed to, he's not so sure about.

He can just only hope that he'll see the Sansy again sometime soon.

Sometime very soon.

\\\=\\\

After a few days of rain and wind, the weather calmed down enough that the sun was actually able to peek through the clouds. B let him open the windows again, and after a quick farewell, they went off to work, boots splashing in the puddles. Brass returned to his seat on the sill, the Sansy's jacket carefully cleaned by his own hands. Of course, B helped out a little bit, providing him with the water and soap, but he washed it pretty damn well. At least he got most of the stains out. He wasn't a fucking miracle working after all.

The jacket laid out in the sun, absorbing the heat in a neat little pile as he watched for the Sansy to return.

He didn't appear at the usual time.

He didn't appear an hour after.

And he didn't appear an hour after that hour.

Brass sighs, looking at the extra sandwich that B had made for the bitty. He said he would come if the weather was good, so why wasn't he coming yet? He wouldn't leave behind this hoodie, so, what was holding him up?

Worry began to tinge his thoughts. Did he get hurt? Did he get sick? Did some wild animal pick him off? Did the dog come back for revenge? While the thoughts continued to pile up in his mind, his eyes saw something walk into his field of vision. Shaking off the thoughts, he leans over the ledge a bit and squints through the sunlight.

It looks like…

"Sansy!" Brass calls out to the bitty and immediately drops the ladder down for him. The Sansy takes his time, meandering over to the ladder and moseying up like he has all the time in the world. Brass backs up enough to give the Sansy some space, and the bitty looks around a bit before spotting his hoodie. He quickly picks it up and puts it on.

"Woah, you even cleaned it. Amazin', I couldn't have done it even if I tried. And I never try."

"Well, I have some experience."

"Don't Papyruses usually do laundry?" The Sansy sits down by the plate and starts eating the sandwich with quick, big bites. He looks hungry.

"Brassberries are different in a way."

"Seems like." The Sansy continues to eat, focusing on the sandwich more than anything. Brass sits down in front of the other bitty, wondering when it would be a good time to ask him to tell his "long story". However, he didn't want to interrupt the bitty's lunch, so he stays silent.

He's about halfway through the sandwich when Brass decides to jumpstart the conversation.

"So, uh. You ever gonna tell me why ya don't want to stay here?" The Sansy freezes, then sighs, putting down the sandwich to fiddle with the hoodie strings. "Is it… B?"

"Ehhh… sorta. But, it's not their fault. It's just…" The Sansy trails off, the hoodie strings interlaced loosely with his phalanges. "...It's easy, y'know? To become attached to someone, once they're nice to you, and treat you good. When they're likeable, and nice, and it's hard for you to think of them badly." He thinks back to how B took care of him, and wonders when he actually started to become attached to them.

"I… I'm not sure."

"Heh, well, I guess it's not the same for everyone." The Sansy picks at the sandwich, making little crumbs litter the plate. "I guess it comes with being a bitty. It's weird how quickly it is to become attached to someone once they show you an ounce of kindness."

"I guess."

"Yeah… But. The thing is, I don't wanna be attached to anymore humans."

"Huh? Why?"

"They all leave in the end, whether you like it or not." Brass looks at his face, trying to find a sign of bitterness or anger to his words. But there's none of that there. There's just… hurt. And sadness. "The worst part is that there's nothing you can do to stop it. Nothing they can do to stop it. And then they leave you behind with people who see you only as a painful reminder, and then you see yourself as a painful reminder of what used to be. And you start to wonder… what's the point of trying anymore?" The Sansy flops onto his back. Brass doesn't say a word, instead watching him with a twinge in his soul. "...So you leave with the things you still care about the most, and then you're on the street. And people point at you, sayin' 'look at that abandoned bitty' and you can't do anything but grit your teeth. Because you know. I t ' e. But then again, what's the point of snappin' at them? Nothin'. It won't change nothin'. Because you know. You won't ever see them again." Brass scoots to sit next to the Sansy, and the lights in his eyes are gone, and his gaze seems to be staring into nothing.

"...What happened to your human?"

"..." He doesn't respond, and continues to stare blankly at the ceiling. Brass doesn't want to push him to continue, so he thinks about what to say. And he comes up with his own sob story,

"...y'know. B isn't- they're not my first owner." The Sansy still won't respond, but Brass is okay with that. He stares out the window, and recounts those days when he still lived with the bitch, and figures that it's okay. He can tell Sansy these things. "My first owner was a real bitch. I didn't know it at the time, because I was just happy that she adopted me. At first, things were alright, she gave me food, bathed me, took care of my wound. But, I was too much work for her. Too sensitive. I was only good to have around whenever people came over. A prop, a toy. I didn't realize it, of course. Those were the days where I was only concerned about keepin' her happy. Tryin' to give her a reason to love me. She didn't love me." He laughs bitterly. "And one day, she got tired of me. Kicked me out and told me that she never wanted to see my ugly mug again.

"I was shocked. Hurt. Literally and figuratively. Then B came by. They tried to help me but I refused. It took a lot of patience on their part, but eventually, I ended up going home to their place. This place." He pats the sill and smiles nostalgically. "At first, I wanted my first owner to take me back. I thought she would. But she didn't. And throughout that whole time, B took care of me. Comforted me, gave me a nicer place to sleep. We watched movies, made me a little house to sleep in, got me new clothes and everything. We bonded, and eventually, we became a two-part family. And. It was… nice."

"...Yeah?"

"Yeah." He pats Sansy's hand. "I learned to move on."

"...huh." Sansy rolls onto his side, directing his attention to the world outside.

"So, why won't you move on?" Brass picks up a crumb and licks it. "Why won't you get attached to any other human?"

"...It feels, wrong. Like, if I do that, what'll happen to her? Will I just… forget her? I feel like, I'd be betrayin' her in some way."

"Why?"

"Because." Sansy gets quieter and curls up slightly. "She didn't want to leave."

"...Who was your owner? Er," he tries to backtrack, "I mean, you don't, have to tell me."

"...Heh, normally, I would take the offer to not say anything, but, you did just sorta share your life story with me."

"Sorta."

"I'll take what I'm given." Sansy rolls back onto his back, and the lights are back in his sockets. He looks uneasy, a bit nervous if the sweat is anything to go by, but he takes a deep breath nonetheless. "It's only fair I repay your kindness in some form. I mean, you did give me all that food."

"Yeah, but, you don't gotta force yourself."

"Nah." He closes his sockets and folds his arms under his skull. "Someone once told me, figuratively, at least, that it's better to get things off my chest, then to keep it all inside. No matter how much I wanna keep it inside."

"Figuratively?"

"Yeah. He's important to me. You'll find out about him soon enough, pal." Sansy sits up, grin lazy as ever as he props his elbows onto the sandwich like a makeshift table, resting his chin on his bony hands. Despite his relaxed position, Brass can still tell that there is a sort of tenseness to him. He waits for the bitty to continue. "I'm warnin' ya, I wasn't kiddin' when I said it'd be a long story."

"That's fine. We've got a lotta time."

"True." Sansy takes a deep breath again, steadying himself. His lights grow distant as he focuses his gaze somewhere past Brass, past the houses and trees and bus stops. He closes his sockets, going silent as the clock ticks behind them. A chill makes its way back to Brass' bones, and the ticks seem to slow down, as if patiently waiting for Sansy to begin.

When he reopens his sockets, the lights are hazy and faraway, and Brass can't help but wonder what sort of scene replays in the other skeleton's mind.

Sansy begins, slow and steady, his voice controlled and present as the calm timbre detaches itself from moment and goes into the past.

"You see, my owner was a lonely, little girl who was always dressed in white."

* * *

 **A/N: So who wants to guess the song Sansy's arc is based off. Any takers? Here's a hint: it's not a song that's mainly sung in English.**


End file.
